Marilyn Morales, a Boricua raised in Humboldt Park, is campaigning diligently for the position of City Clerk. Morales took time to share a little about herself and her interest in running for City Clerk with our readers.
La Voz –Tell us a little bit about yourself
MM: I am a native Chicagoan born and raised in Humboldt Park to Puerto Rican parents.I am a product of the Chicago Public School system graduating from Kelvyn Park High School in 1980. I obtained my B.S. from Aurora College and acquired a Masters in Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1994. I am the mother of three great kids and I currently live in the Northwest side of Chicago. I have over 20 years of public service employment experience. I started off with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and then, I worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For the past 16 years, I have worked for the Chicago Park District. I also worked at the Association House during the time that Miguel Del Valle was the director. I am on the Vida/Sida Advisory Board and served on the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC)
Board of Directors. In addition, I am a Puerto Rican Agenda member, co-founder of
Boricua Pride and became a Metropolitan Leadership Institute Fellow in 2008. I love
Paseo Boricua, café, and I love to read!
La Voz – What does the City Clerk’s office do and why are you running for City Clerk?
MM: City Clerk’s Office is the second highest ranking office in the city. It is responsible for maintaining all the official records of city government. Additionally, it
is responsible for issuing business, liquor and other city licenses, and distributing city stickers, passports, and dog licenses. I am running for City Clerk because I believe I have the leadership, organizational, and management skills necessary to do the job. I am exceptionally qualified and possess the skills necessary to run that department effectively and efficiently. I would like to continue to expand the se vices provided and make the office more
accessible, transparent, and responsive
to the public.
La Voz – Tell us about your campaign
MM: Right now the big job is to collect 12,500 signatures, so we are pounding the streets getting signatures. This is a local grassroots effort to get me on the ballot and
we need every Chicago registered voter available to sign my petition. Our volunteers
are wonderful people from all over the city who want to give me an opportunity to run for this office, and I am excited about the overwhelming amount of support from different organizations. They all believe in my genuine interest and commitment to the people of this city, and they are doing all that they can to collect signatures. I am very grateful to all who have been encouraging and supportive of my effort to run for City Clerk. Anyone who is interested in volunteering can e-mail us at [email protected].
