Politics
Johnson Taps Anthony Quezada to Fill Vacant 35th Ward Seat
(Photo: Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News. Inset: Provided)
Mayor Brandon Johnson tapped Cook County Commissioner Anthony Quezada on Wednesday to fill the vacant 35th Ward seat on the Chicago City Council and replace former Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who is now the head of the Chicago Park District.
The City Council is set to consider Quezada’s nomination at a special meeting scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Johnson called Quezada, 29, a “progressive champion” in a statement announcing his selection.
“Anthony is a lifelong Chicagoan who embodies the values of the 35th Ward, and I have no doubt that he will be a tremendous advocate for his community,” Johnson said.
A member of the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Quezada was elected in 2022 to represent the 8th District on the Cook County Board, making him the first gay Latino to serve as commissioner.
Quezada is also the 35th Ward’s Democratic committeeperson and worked as an aide to Ramirez-Rosa in the 35th Ward office for six and a half years.
Quezada said in a statement he was honored by the mayor’s selection.
“Our neighborhoods deserve bold, principled leadership, and I am ready to continue building a ward and city that prioritizes working families, strengthens public services, and empowers our neighbors,” Quezada said.
Quezada was one of six people to apply to replace Ramirez-Rosa, according to the mayor’s office. Only one other candidate, Daniel Tobon, submitted a complete application, records show.
Tobon called the selection of Quezada as Ramirez-Rosa’s replacement “transparently corrupt.”
“This process clearly had a predetermined outcome, and that was to install Quezada as alderman of our
ward,” said Tobon, a self-described “serial entrepreneur and lifelong progressive.” “This whole process has been radicalizing for me. The people of our ward deserve better than this.”
Quezada had the endorsement of United Neighbors of the 35th Ward, the political organization Ramirez-Rosa helped found after his election to the City Council in 2015. Quezada was also the pick of the search committee formed by Johnson, which was led by Rules Committee Chair Ald. Michelle Harris (8th Ward) and included Palenque LSNA Executive Director Juliet De Jesus Alejandre, Palenque LSNA Director of Equitable Community Development Christian Diaz, Logan Square Preservation President Stephen Andrew Schneider and Marcela Reales Visbal, the assistant director of DePaul University’s Center for Latino Research.
If Quezada is confirmed by the City Council, he will have an advantage if he chooses to run for a full term in February 2027 to represent parts of Logan Square, Hermosa, Avondale, Irving Park and Albany Park on the City Council.
The 35th Ward seat is the first to become vacant since Johnson took office in 2023.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
