Opponents in Dolton, Illinois village race accuse Mayor Tiffany Henyard of hypocrisy
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) -- It's only Thursday, but Dolton Mayor and Thornton Township Supervisor Tiffany Henyard has had quite the week—with turmoil, yelling, and political maneuvering in both of her jobs.
On Thursday night, some of Henyard's opponents called her a hypocrite—as she fights to stay on one ballot herself while supporting those opponents getting thrown off another.
This past Tuesday night, a Democratic Party Caucus for Thornton Township resulted in Henyard being denied a place on the ballot for reelection as township supervisor.
All township supervisor hopefuls needed all eight people for their slate—supervisor, highway director, clerk, assessor, and four trustees. Henyard did not have a certified assessor on her ticket, and therefore, was deemed not valid to be considered for nomination.
Nominated instead was Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris, who also serves as the Thornton Township Democratic committeeman. His name will be on the ballot as the Democratic candidate for Thornton Township Supervisor, and Henyard's will not.
Henyard has been crying foul about what happened at the caucus, calling it "illegal." Yet some question whether she might be using a very similar method to get those running against her off the ballot for Dolton mayor.
"So we have to get this village back on track," said Casundra Hopson-Jordan, who is running to unseat Henyard as Dolton's mayor.
Hopson-Jordan and D'Nasha Harrison formed an independent party. But they hit a snag, as someone filed an objection to their filings.
The petitioner who filed the objection was Demarkus Griggley—a Henyard "ally."
"When you see her, you see him," said Harrison.
Griggley stood right behind Henyard Thursday as she addressed the outcome of the township caucus where she did not get the Democratic nomination for supervisor earlier in the week. She complained about Harris, who held the caucus as Democratic committeeman and ended up being nominated as supervisor.
"He only, only nominated himself and his slate, which was wrong," Henyard said.
Yet Griggley is seeking for the Dolton Electoral Board to kick Hopson-Jordan and Harrison—the latter of whom is running for trustee—off the ballot, because they did not file a complete slate. The opponents note that this the same reason Henyard was kicked off the township ballot at the caucus.
"Very hypocritical, being that we just dealt with the situation with the caucus," said Hopson-Jordan.
"What was filed against us is not about the people's voice being heard," added Harrison.
On Tuesday night, Henyard pleaded to the caucus chair to let her people speak—repeatedly calling the actions of the caucus that resulted in her being kicked off the ballot, and Harris getting on, "illegal."
"If you felt that that wasn't right, and you felt that that was illegal, then how is it that it's OK to do it to the village?" said Harrison.
"She's really desperate," added Hopson-Jordan. "She sees that everything is falling apart, and at this point, it's, 'Let me do whatever I can to try to hold on to any one of these positions.'"
Perry Abbasi, Hopson-Jordan and Harrison's attorney, points out the rules for township caucus and village municipalities are not the same.
"I think it's about democracy versus hypocrisy," he said.
The attorney referenced a 2017 federal court decision, which set the precedent that a new party does not require a full slate in villages.
"Again, this has been decided," he said. "It was decided seven years ago. You can't enforce this anymore."
Yet the two candidates are forced to fight the election board in Dolton to stay on the ballot.
"I think it's just slimy," said Hopson-Jordan.
The two independent candidates have a hearing for Dec. 16 with the Dolton Electoral Board. Their attorney is confident that their names will stay on the April ballot.
But before that, Henyard will square off with Dolton Village Trustee Jason House in the Democratic primary election for mayor in February.
