Candidate Questionnaire

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We are 48th Ward Democrats working together to get progressive Dems elected up and down the ballot.

Please answers the questions this questionnaire to the best of your abilities. Your responses will help us make endorsement decisions and may be used to communicate the differences between candidates to 48th Ward Dems members.

Please be candid, complete, and forthright in your responses. Candidates who complete a questionnaire by January 22, 2026 will be invited to interview with the 48th Ward Democrats Endorsement Committee.

There are five (5) parts of this form:

Parts 1-4 are questions about you and should all be answered individually.
Part 5 asks you to choose one question from each section to answer.

For additional upcoming events and ways to get involved, see: www.48thwarddems.org.

Part 1: Candidate and Campaign Information

Please use this section to tell us about the basics of your campaign organization.

First Name *

Last Name *

Cell phone *

Email address *

Zip code *

Position you are running for *

Campaign Committee name *

Campaign Office Address *

Campaign Manager's name *

Campaign Manager's email address *

Campaign Manager's phone number *

Campaign Social Media handles and platforms *

Part 2: Personal and Professional Background

Please use this section to tell us about yourself.

Briefly describe your background, including personal, educational and professional information.

If you currently or previously have been elected to office or have run for office, please list what office(s) and when.

Why are you running for this position?

Describe why you are a Democrat / Running as a Democrat / Seeking the Endorsement of the 48th Ward Democrats

Are you a regular voter, and do you reliably vote Democratic in the primary and general? If not, please describe.

What organizations, charitable, religious, or otherwise, are you a member of or participate in?

Briefly describe your participation in these groups.

Part 3: Current State of the Campaign

Please use this section to give us some information about your campaign and how it's going.

What is your campaign budget and how much have you raised to date?

Does your campaign have restrictions on PAC contributions?

If so, what are they?

How many volunteers does your campaign currently have?

What are your plans to contact voters and get out the vote?

Have you received endorsements from other groups or elected officials? If so, which ones? *

Part 4: Issue Questions

Please use this section to tell us about where you stand on each of the following issues.

Housing What is your approach to support affordable housing? What are your thoughts on the cost of rent, rent control, property taxes, the cost of buying a house, etc.

LGBTQ+

How will you support and protect the LGBTQ+ community?

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
What is your stance on the role of DEI in education, government, and the workplace? *

Reproductive Rights

What steps will you take to support a person's right to personal autonomy and to protect reproductive rights?

Federal Government/Authoritarianism
We are at a perilous time with an authoritarian takeover of our federal government. What steps will you take to protect people in the 48th ward from this encroaching fascism? *

ICE

Our community has been terrorized for months by ICE. What policies will you support to protect our community members from ICE?

Part 5: Policy Positions

Please answer a minimum of one (1) question from each of the following five (5) sections:

Jobs & Economic Justice
Environment & Healthcare
Education
Safety
Democracy

Please explain your answers. Elaborate on your history with these issues as well as your plans regarding them. Many of these issues overlap and impact other issues. Your answer will help us to understand not only your position, but how you approach and consider issues.

Please be prepared to discuss all (including unanswered) questions at your interview.

Policy Question 1: Jobs & Economic Justice

Please address a minimum of one (1) of the topics below and elaborate on your history with the issue as well as your plans regarding that issue.

• Minimum Wage — While productivity has increased in the last 40 years, wages have remained stagnant. Do you support raising the minimum wage?

• Unions — Do you support workers’ rights to join or form unions in order to collectively bargain with their employer? What experiences do you have with unions?

• Small Business Support — Small businesses are the engine that drive our economy. What
have you done to support small businesses? What will you do as an elected official to support small businesses? What is your experience with small businesses?

• Privatization — Do you oppose the privatization of public goods and services? What are examples of Public / Private Partnerships that you would support or oppose?

• Taxes — Describe your approach to taxes. What taxes should be raised or lowered, how should public needs be funded?

• Food Security — What is your approach to ending hunger in our community? To reducing food deserts?

Policy Question 2: Environment & Healthcare

Please address a minimum of one (1) of the topics below and elaborate on your history with the issue as well as your plans regarding that issue.

• Vaccinations — What will you do to promote vaccinations and encourage safe practices related to COVID-19 and similar airborne viruses?

• AIDS — What will you do to promote education around HIV/AIDS prevention? What policies do you support to help those living with HIV/AIDS?

• Green Energy — What will you do to support renewable energy and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change?

• Public Transportation — Public transportation such as busses, trains, and bike trails help reduce congestion and lower carbon emissions. How would you promote public transportation?

• Access to Hospitals — What will you do to support access to hospitals? To make healthcare affordable? Do you support efforts to make local hospitals "in-system?"

• Clean Drinking Water — How will you keep our drinking water clean? What investments would you support for the replacement of lead pipes, etc.

Policy Question 3: Education

Please address a minimum of one (1) of the topics below and elaborate on your history with the issue as well as your plans regarding that issue.

• Schools Funding — How do you think schools should be funded? What can be done to support more equitable funding of schools?

• Literacy — How have you and how would you support literacy programs, libraries, ESL and GED programs?

• Public Art — A community often tells its story through public art such as monuments and murals. What kind of public art would you like to support, and how?

• Parks — How would you support public parks?

• College & Union Apprenticeships — How would you work to increase the rate of high school graduation, and the rate of those graduates attending college or union apprenticeships?

• Diversity in Education — 48th ward residents are incredibly diverse. How would you support efforts to make sure that education is reflective of those diverse communities?

• Age Appropriate Sexual Education — Do you support age appropriate sex ed?

• LGBTQ+ Acceptance — Studies show that when LGBTQ+ students are not accepted that it increases the likelihood of self-harm. Do you support LGBTQ+ acceptance policies that include gender affirmation?

• Book Banning — How do you intend to prevent book banning and ensure students are exposed to diverse opinions, art, and viewpoints?

Policy Question 4: Safety

Please address a minimum of one (1) of the topics below and elaborate on your history with the issue as well as your plans regarding that issue.

• Gun Safety — Studies show that households that own handguns had rates of suicide 4 times higher than those without, and that a higher rate of firearm ownership is associated with a higher rate of domestic violence homicide. What are you thoughts on how to reduce gun violence and increase safety?

• Mental Health & Suicide Prevention — What policies would you support to support mental health treatment, and prevent suicides?

• Black Lives Matter — Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement, and how would you pursue policies that reflect the initiatives of the movement?

• Police Misconduct and Accountability — What efforts do you support to increase police accountability and prevent misconduct?

• Violence interrupters — Do you support the creation and funding of violence interrupter programs to reduce violence?

• Shot spotter — Do you oppose contracting with unproven services such as shot spotter?

• Sanctuary city — Do you support pursuing "sanctuary city" policies that would limit local law enforcement cooperation with Immigration & Customs Enforcement?

• Domestic violence — How will you work to reduce and prevent domestic violence? To support victims of domestic violence?

• Violence targeting LGBTQ+ community — LGBTQ+ people face higher rates of violence. What will you do to reduce LGBTQ+ bashing?

• Animal Welfare — What will you do to reduce animal neglect and cruelty?

Policy Question 5: Democracy

Please address a minimum of one (1) of the topics below and elaborate on your history with the issue as well as your plans regarding that issue.

• Make voting easier — How would you support making voting easier? What do you do to encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote? To oppose voter suppression?

• Resisting authoritarianism — What does the Democratic Party need to do now and in the coming years to rebuild American democracy given the antidemocratic, authoritarian and racist destruction happening under the current regime? Please separate reforms needed in the Democratic Party from reforms needed in government.

• Making running for elected office more accessible — How would you support making running for elected office more accessible? Should elected office pay more to appeal to more candidates? Should elected office be a full time position? Should elected office holders be prevented from holding other full-time jobs?

• Public financing of elections — Do you support the public financing of elections? Limits on contributions to candidates?

• "Non-partisan" elections — Do you oppose "non-partisan" elections? Please explain.

• Ranked Choice Voting — Do you support the establishment of a "ranked choice" ballot to ensure
that elected officials are elected with the majority vote and not plurality vote?

• Transparency — What will you do to support greater transparency in government?

Thank you!

Thank you so much for filling out our questionnaire. A member of the 48th Ward Dems will be in touch soon.

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