Note: This is the first in a 10-part series introducing candidates who are on the ballot for the first time in village board races in Homewood and Flossmoor. The last time Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld had competition was in 2009. This year, newcomer Brady Chalmers will compete for the job. If he succeeds, Chalmers would be the village’s first Black mayor. See the March print edition for our election guide, which will include profiles submitted by all candidates who choose to participate.
Brady Chalmers has worked in politics and government most of his adult life, with stints in former President Barack Obama’s campaign organization, in the Cook County Democratic Party, in the Cook County District 5 commissioner’s office and in the Cook County board president’s office.
But he was an activist and organizer first.
“I was an activist in high school,” he said. “I helped organize Chicago public school students against the Iraq war.”
He has lived in Homewood less than two years, but he said in addition to his experience working for the 5th District office he has family in Country Club Hills and is familiar with the village and the area.
He said he will compensate for his relative lack of name recognition in the community by knocking on a lot of doors.
“I want to give the residents of Homewood a clear choice,” he said. “I think that the current administration was really good at getting us to where we are today. I tell people I’m not running against Mayor Hofeld. I’m running for mayor of Homewood.”
When he knocks on those doors, he said he would describe his approach to local government.
“I believe in bottom up governance,” he said. “The mayor is not the arbiter of the people’s will. The mayor is the executor of it. It’s my job to be a good steward of their demands, needs, expectations, futures.
“I’m not trying to impose values that I don’t think exist here. What I want to do is lift up those values and emphasize them.”
