Ald. Roderick Sawyer, son of former mayor, becomes latest in race to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) became the latest candidate to announce plans to challenge Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2023 election on Thursday.

Sawyer confirmed in a phone call with CBS 2 that he plans to run for mayor, but did not immediately provide any further information on his campaign plans.

Sawyer, who has represented the 6th Ward on the South Side since 2011, is the son of former Mayor Eugene Sawyer, who was elected by the City Council in 1987 following the death of Mayor Harold Washington.

The younger Sawyer represents the same 6th Ward his father did for 16 years before the elder Sawyer became mayor.

Roderick Sawyer is also Lightfoot's handpicked chair of the City Council Health Committee, and a former chair of the City Council Black Caucus.

At least five other candidates have announced plans to run against Lightfoot in next year's election: former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, millionaire Willie Wilson, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), Illinois State Rep. Kam Buckner, and Chicago Fraternal Order of Police president John Catanzara.

Lightfoot, who said Thursday she plans to announce her own re-election plans next week, noted all of her declared opponents so far are men.

"Another day, another man who thinks he can do this job better than me," she said at an unrelated event Thursday morning. "I'm just going to keep doing my work. I'm not going to worry about the folks who are jumping in."

Other potential candidates who have been weighing bids for mayor include Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Ald. Sophia King (4th), Chicago Teachers Union vice president Stacy Davis Gates, Illinois State Rep. La Shawn Ford, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, and community activist Ja'Mal Green.