Tuesday was an historic day, as Jada Curry defeated incumbent Gene Williams in Tuesday’s primary election in suburban Lynwood, making her the first Black woman to become mayor of the suburb.
Curry will take office later this year, as her April general election race will see her running unopposed, and her family celebrated the major victory Tuesday night and talked with NBC 5 less than 24 hours later.
“I’m on cloud nine right now. I am over the moon. I am grateful,” she said. “I’m so appreciative of all the support. I met amazing people on this journey they followed me al the way to the polls yesterday.”
Curry beat Williams, who held the seat of mayor for 16 years and she told NBC 5 he conceded through a text message.
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“I believe his exact text was, 'looks like you did it, congratulations,'” she shared. “So I just responded and said 'thank you, I look forward to building on the legacy that you leave.'”
The mother of two and wife of a police officer was inspired to run for mayor almost two years ago.
“It first started when I was first elected this year and began to really pay attention to the inner workings of our current administration and it was a little disenchanted and realized now more than ever is the time for a change,” she said.
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She’s now the first Black woman elected mayor in Lynwood’s history—joining the ranks of other women to break the glass ceiling, like Vice President Kamala Harris.
“How ironic that I would make history during Black History Month, and it’s also special because my daughter is a history teacher so now she gets to share my story in her classroom,” she said.
Curry is soaking in the victory, but said she’s ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m pretty grateful for the fact that so many residents put their trust in me,” she said.
She fought a tough campaign and said family and friends motivated her to never give up—a message she hopes to pass along to young other girls in Lynwood.
“Anything is possible,” she said. “I may be the first woman village president for Lynwood but I won’t be the last.”
Curry takes office in May and said she wants to work on several things, including transparency and economic development.
