Roderick Sawyer, Son Of Former Mayor, Announces Bid To Oust Lightfoot

CHICAGO - Alderman Roderick Sawyer announced Wednesday he will give up his City Council seat to run for mayor, joining a growing number of candidates looking to oust Mayor Lori Lightfoot next year.

The son of former mayor Eugene Sawyer criticized the way Lightfoot has run her administration, saying she's not the "right fit" for the role.

"She doesn’t play well in the sandbox with others ... The authoritativeness. The mean-spirited demeanor. That’s not how you run a government," Sawyer told the Sun-Times.

With violent crime at the top of voters’ minds, Sawyer claims Lightfoot has not allowed police Superintendent David Brown and rank-and-file police officers to do their jobs due to her “dictatorial style.”

However, he has vowed to fire Brown as superintendent if elected mayor. He also wants to fill the 1,600 police vacancies by offering hiring incentives and retention bonuses.

Lightfoot initially campaigned as a reformer, but Sawyer argues she has not measured up to that claim, citing her delaying civilian police oversight, her attempt to block legislation that would create a 21-member elected school board and her public criticism of Inspector General Joe Ferguson, who later resigned.

Sawyer is Lightfoot’s hand-picked chair of the City Council’s Committee on Health and Human Relations and the former chair of the council’s Black Caucus.

He becomes the fifth candidate and third African American to enter the race. State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) and millionaire businessman Willie Wilson have already announced their candidacies. They are joined by former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Alderman Ray Lopez (15th).

Lightfoot has yet to officially announce her reelection bid.