On the first day of filing petitions for the 2023 municipal elections, major news channels seemed mostly interested in Ja’Mal Green’s petitions in a wheelbarrow or which aldermanic candidate was first in line.
I was in line by 6:25 a.m. that day, along with police district council candidates Dion McGill, Elianne “Ely” Bahena and dozens of other residents running for office for the first time. While cameras swarmed around mayoral hopefuls, we shared stories about our experiences collecting signatures.
