Andre Vasquez Jr. was a political novice prior to the 2016 elections, when he began organizing for Bernie Sanders after meeting him at a campaign event. He canvassed for Sanders and went on to become the chair of the Reclaim Chicago North Chapter, where he campaigned and held community events for both Daniel Biss and state Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago).

Prior to serving on the City Council, Vasquez was a battle rapper and worked as an AT&T statewide area manager. In the 2019 election, he challenged former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s floor leader and longtime incumbent Patrick O’Connor. Vasquez campaigned on overhauling the practice of aldermanic prerogative and democratizing the development process. “[A]ldermen need to stop looking at their wards like fiefdoms,” Vasquez said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.

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