RogersEdge Reporter: Battle for the 48th Ward: A Sit-down with Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth
Great article with Leni in the RodgersEdge Reporter. Thanks to Loyola students, Marisa Panella, Lauren Pause, and Monica Reyes for this interview!
RodgersEdge Reporter: Why did you decide to run for Alderman?
Manaa-Hoppenworth: I’ve just wanted to right things, and I’ve always been that way all my life. So in 2016, I got really mad after the federal elections. Even though I had a small business and I had kids, I wanted to do more. And so, I organized people to go from Illinois to D.C. and back, as I took care of operations for the Women’s March, Illinois. It was a fantastic day. But then when we came back, we’re like, what are we going to do? And so, I created local groups and a statewide chapter of Indivisible [, a movement which] is all about electing progressive candidates, and fighting for progressive issues.
At the cornerstone of democracy is civic engagement. And that includes registering to vote, getting out to vote, and then not only that but doing things between every single election, things that are important to build community. I started marching because, of course, all of our rights were kind of under attack… So, that’s the reason why I’m here because I’ve been doing this work at the federal and state level. I want to take this to the citywide level, because all politics is local, and local politics is all relations. And relationships are how you build strong communities. It’s how we’re going to take care of each other and keep one another safe.