Trustee Jason House handily won the race for mayor of south suburban Dolton Tuesday, defeating former ally and embattled incumbent Tiffany Henyard and bringing her sole, troubled term to a close in a stunning landslide.
With 100% of precincts reporting, House had nearly 88% of the vote, compared to Henyard’s 12%. It was a convincing defeat for Henyard, who had won 82% of the vote when she won the race for mayor in 2021.
House and the rest of his “Clean House” slate walked out to a recording of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance of “Not Like Us,” dancing their way to the podium before declaring victory. Later, when House’s victory was clear, he addressed his supporters.
“We faced four years of intimidation, four years of failure, and tonight is the new day for the village of Dolton,” House told supporters.
Henyard, who won that race after serving as a trustee for eight years, had endured a number of investigations and a mayoral recall effort — which garnered about 56% of the vote, but was later thrown out by the Illinois Appellate Court.
An investigation conducted by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asserted late last month that Henyard mismanaged the village’s finances through “excessive” spending, hid financial information from trustees and the public, and skirted efforts aimed at transparency.
That’s in addition to a federal probe into a $200,000 payment to a controversial contractor whose owner was sentenced to five years in federal prison on bribery charges last August. Trustee Andrew Holmes was also fired last spring from his job as a crisis responder for a nonprofit amid sexual assault allegations.
House proposed a community benefit agreement between the village of Dolton and the Dolton Park District to improve park facilities and ramp up recreational opportunities for residents. He also pledged to address infrastructure issues and resolve negotiations of the village’s firefighters contract.
However, much of his campaign was spent on the shortcomings of his one-time ally, vowing to restore transparency and trust, specifically in relation to the town’s financial dealings and debt.
House formerly served as a board member and treasurer for the Chicago Global Health Alliance, and a board member for the Dolton Chamber of Commerce.