Monday’s unanimous selection of state Rep. Annazette Collins, D-10th Dist., to replace former state Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-5th, came as no surprise to some elected officials who supported her candidacy from the very beginning.
“She has
a vast amount of government experience, which is needed as a state senator,”
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-7th Dist., told the Defender. “With that amount of experience
I am confident she will do a fine job.”
The
Senate seat became available after Hendon, who was not available for comment,
resigned last month after 18 years in office.
The
selection was made by 13 committeemen, including Aldermen Emma Mitts (37th )
and Sharon Dixon (24th), former Ald. Ed Smith (28th), and committee chair and
Secretary of State Jesse White. The public meeting at Moretti's
Restaurant, 1645 W. Jackson Blvd., drew about 100 people and several
elected officials.
Among
those who applied for the post were former gubernatorial candidate Scott Lee
Cohen, who was eliminated in the first round, and former mayoral candidate
Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins,a finalist who was “a strong candidate,” said White.
White
said the committee would regroup in the next few weeks to select a replacement
for Collins’ current elected office. She favors her daughter, Angelique
Collins, an education consultant, taking over the post.
“She
knows the process and inner workings of Springfield and would make a great
state Representative,” Collins said. “But I do understand the committee’s
reservations about appointing a family member to my seat. (But) regardless who
is chosen I will work with that person to make sure the West Side is
represented in Springfield.”
Collins
has been a state Representative since 2001 and will lose her seniority and
chairmanship over the Public Utility Committee when she is sworn into the
Senate Wednesday in Springfield.
She will
have to run for re-election in the Democratic primary February 2012 and if successful
the general election next November.
Priority
number one for Collins is to work with Democrats to pass a balanced budget for
fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1. She also plans to help bring more
economic development to the West Side as well as more entrepreneur and
ex-offender programs.
Smith
said that Collins was his first choice.
But for
Dixon, “She was not my first choice but I support her appointment because she
is qualified and does bring a wealth of experience to the position.”
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
