Illinois

Ald. Ameya Pawar Announces Run for City Treasurer

The announcement follows current Treasurer Kurt Summers’ decision not to run for re-election

Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar has set his sights on City Treasurer.

After ending a run for governor earlier this year, the 47th Ward alderman on Monday announced he is running for City Treasurer in the February 2019 municipal elections.

The announcement follows current Treasurer Kurt Summers’ decision not to run for re-election.

“I’ve decided to run because I believe we are in a moment of incredible opportunity to make so much progressive change for Chicagoans through the power of this office,” Pawar said in a statement.

Should he win the election, Pawar, noted as a liberal or progressive, said he plans to launch a “people’s public bank and loan capital to expand neighborhood businesses, finance affordable housing, fund new infrastructure and refinance student loans to help Chicagoans stay in the city while attracting new ones.”

”I am running to be your next City Treasurer to enact a bold progressive agenda to harness the power of 2.7 million Chicagoans and invest in our neighborhoods and each other,” he said.

Pawar ended a run for Illinois governor due to a lack of funds last October.

"The reason I got into this race, honestly, is that I was afraid," Pawar said in his statement. "Afraid of the society my daughter might inherit if the American ship stays the current course. She’s only one-and-a-half, but America is not a small ship. It is a giant tanker, the kind you need to start steering miles out from shore if you want to dock without crashing. We are not on a safe course right now, and we know it." 

He was earlier listed among the potential candidates to run for mayor in wake of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to not seek re-election.

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