With less than three percentage points separating them in Tuesday’s primary, State Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin (D-Chicago) and Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar are set to face-off in a runoff for state treasurer on Tuesday, April 2.
In the first-round to replace outgoing treasurer Kurt Summers, Conyears-Ervin edged Pawar with 214,965 votes for 44.59 percent to his 199,784 tallies for 41.4 percent. A third candidate, Peter Gariepy, finished with the remaining approximately 14 percent.
City election rules mandate that if no candidate earns at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff is automatically be held.
State Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin
| Illinois General Assembly
Having served in District 10 since 2017, the 43-year-old Conyears-Ervin was born and raised in Chicago and is married to 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin. She won re-election in November and has vowed to serve as a “fiscal watchdog” if voted into the treasurer’s office.
“It’s important we have a treasurer that’s walked in our shoes,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s important we have a treasurer that knows the challenges and struggles of our everyday citizens.”
Pawar, who previously ran for governor, is widely known for his progressive policies, including once advocating for a universal basic income (UBI) system, which has been defined as a system that operates by giving a cash grant to everyone, based on the premise that most people are in need of more money to cover basic necessities.
More specifically, Pawar’s pilot plan called for $500 a month to be allocated to 1,000 Chicago families, with no strings attached.
Pawar, who also pushed for the recently enacted statewide minimum wage hike, is on record with a plan to use the treasurer’s office to drum up support for such issues as income inequality and greater investment in green infrastructure.
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