The controversial former mayor of a small Illinois village has ditched the Democrats and will be running for public office as a Republican – in Georgia.
“How y’all doing? It’s your favorite super mayor... the people’s everything and yes, I am now a Georgia peach,” Tiffany Henyard said on a Facebook livestream Wednesday, during which she discussed her own “Project Phoenix” – an attempt to move on from previous controversy.
Data from the Georgia Secretary of State's Office shows that Henyard has qualified for, and will run in, the general primary election for the District 5 seat on the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, due to take place on May 19.
In her livestream, Henyard did not confirm her run, but teased a “big announcement” on Friday, saying: “There’s a lot going on here... and I want people to know that I am aware of it. People been coming in my clothing store telling me all about it, all the things they want fixing and changing, and I just want to be the change for the community that I now live in.
“So I want people to understand that I heard you and I'm doing something about it... Stay tuned.”
In the filing with the state, Henyard is listed as a “business owner” on the filing, and is the only Republican candidate campaigning for the seat. Four Democrats have also qualified to run for the seat – Dejia Felicity Swindell, Helen Zenobia Willis, J Jazz Thomas-Jones and Sojourner M Grimmett.
Henyard served as the mayor of Dolton, Illinois, from 2021 until 2025 when she was overwhelmingly defeated in the Democratic primary by Jason House.
While in office, she was the subject of multiple scandals and lawsuits, including accusations of mishandling the 21,000-person village’s finances, as well as a mass brawl during a town meeting.
The meeting, in January last year, descended into chaos after one resident reportedly called Henyard a “b****,” causing her boyfriend to confront the man and a scuffle to break out. Henyard lost a shoe and was thrown to the ground after she pushed her desk aside and allegedly ran to join the brawl.
Along with her boyfriend and other town officials, Henyard was sued by a resident of the township over the incident, who accused her of attacking him.
Prior to that incident, Henyard has become embroiled in controversy after her government reportedly went millions of dollars into debt without explanation from her office.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who led an investigation into her conduct, found Henyard allegedly mismanaged funds through “excessive” spending, hid financial information from trustees and the public and disregarded transparency guardrails.
Among the findings were $779,000 in village debt without receipts or an explanation of what was bought and a $171,000 bill for unexplained travel expenses to Las Vegas for a convention held by the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Additionally, Henyard’s government reportedly spent $51,000 on area restaurants and simply wrote them off as meals or doughnuts, Lightfoot’s report revealed.
Henyard’s management of finances are also subject to a separate federal investigation that was opened last year. No charges have yet been filed against Henyard in connection with the probe.
During her time as mayor, she and her live-in boyfriend faced the threat of eviction after failing to pay thousands of dollars in rent.
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