Dolton senior trustee announces candidacy for mayor, plans to clean house
DOLTON, Ill. – A trustee with the Village of Dolton has officially launched his mayoral campaign in hopes of unseating the controversial incumbent Tiffany Henyard.
An event to kick off the campaign was held Sunday afternoon and attended by dozens of residents, village staff, business owners and first responders.
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“We have the right team, we have a winning team; our team will be changing the narrative around the Village of Dolton, and we will be restoring order, decency and dignity to this community,” Senior Trustee Jason House said.
As House announced his plan to run for mayor, two current trustees, Kiana Belcher and Brittney Norwood, announced their bid for reelection, and former trustee Edward Steave, announced his plan to seek a second term. Village Clerk, Alison Key also shared her plans to seek reelection.
“You know how important this is to us, and you know what they say, it takes a village,” Norwood said. “My goal is to ensure that residents can continue to call Dolton home.”
“This campaign kickoff event is not about slandering anyone, least of all the current administration. It is about changing the narrative,” Dr. Nikita Cloud, a spokesperson for the group, said.
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Sunday’s announcement comes amid political dysfunction in Dolton, including an ongoing federal investigation into village financials, putting Henyard and her allies under the microscope. The FBI has already served wide-ranging subpoenas and spoken to business owners and contractors, but no charges have been filed.
“We’ve seen all kinds of spending; countless spending on Vegas trips, first class flights, luxury hotels and fine dining all on the taxpayers. We’ve also seen a million dollars a year of security following around one individual instead of being on the streets where they belong,” House said. “Meanwhile, we have pensions going unfunded, bills going unpaid, the lawsuits come in one after another, legal fees are skyrocketing, and year after year, we have multimillion-dollar deficits we have to face and cure.”
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House, a lifelong resident of the village who has spent eight years serving on the board, laid out some of the items he plans to tackle if chosen as Dolton’s next mayor. He said he would prioritize ethics reform, restoring checks and balances in the village, and building trust in the community.
“We want to make sure that the people in our community no longer fear the mayor’s office and operate in that light,” House said. “It’s an open-door policy. We’re going to have reforms around public safety, working with our officers, making sure that we can once again come hand-in-hand, become connected to our community stakeholders.”
House pointed out the need to get officers back on the streets they were sworn to serve and protect, eliminating a security detail for the mayor.
“No more fancy flights, no more first-class trips, no more security detail. We’re going to save this town a million dollars a year with one fatal swoop,” said House.
The senior trustee also shared promises to post all financials on the village’s website, ensuring transparency, and making industrial and retail development a priority. He said those who offer sales tax initiatives will be promoted to help avoid raising taxes for residents.
“We’re tired of seeing businesses shut down. We’ve got way more businesses shut down – I don’t know if we’ve opened a business in this administration. At least 10 businesses have closed and can’t get their license. They’ve got to fight for that. No more, it’s time out,” House said.
“Look around, we are in downtown Dolton and nearly 75% of businesses are closed. This is not what we want for our community. This is not the look that we want,” said Belcher.
While speaking to the crowd, House acknowledged firefighters in attendance, who showed up to support the announcement.
At a board meeting in early July, firefighters dropped a major bombshell, telling attendees they have been working without a contract for almost five years and demanded answers on missing retirement funds withdrawn from checks that went unpaid, workmen’s compensation issues, and missing union dues.
Unlike most contentious meetings that typically play out in Dolton, Sunday’s event had a different feeling to it. One woman, however, showed up and shouted from behind the crowd for at least 20 minutes, receiving little attention from others in attendance.
“Also, I didn’t want to address it, but we have people that come and heckle; you also know that they’re coming to support because if they took their time out of their day to come and act a fool, you come and you’re rocking with us 2025,” said Belcher.
Henyard has not announced whether she plans to seek reelection. WGN News has reached out for comment but has not yet heard back.
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