Fort Wayne, Indiana, elects Black Woman Mayor

April 2024: Fort Wayne Councilwoman Sharon Tucker has made history after becoming Indiana’s second-largest city’s (Population 268,000) new mayor. She becomes Fort Wayne’s first Black mayor and second woman to hold the position. She was selected during a Democratic caucus to replace the late Mayor Tom Henry, who died in March. Sharon Tucker, a Democrat, secured her win in the second round of voting during the Democratic caucus, meeting the requirement of 50 per cent of the votes plus one.

 

Seven candidates, including Indiana Democratic House leader and state Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, ran in the party caucus. A total of 92 precinct committee members cast votes to determine the successor to Henry, who died at the age of 72 after battling stomach cancer. The new mayor will serve the remainder of Henry’s term, which runs through 31 December 2027.

 

A graduate of Indiana Tech, Sharon Tucker holds two Bachelor of Science degrees in Management and Human Resources. She has a community and civic engagement history, having served as the Treasurer for the Allen County Democratic Party for five years and as Vice Chair in 2016.

 

Sharon Tucker was elected 1st District Councilwoman on the Allen County Council in 2014 and re-elected to a second term in 2018. She later won the 6th District City Council seat in 2019, becoming the first African American woman to hold that position.

In addition to her political roles, Sharon Tucker has been involved in various community organizations. She is a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority member, AVOW (Advancing Voices of Women), and the NAACP. Sharon Tucker also volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Allen County Public Library, Alliance Health Clinic, and SEED.

 

In 2012, Sharon Tucker founded the ’Women in Politics Forum,’ an annual event focusing on empowering, engaging, and educating women on political involvement. According to her official council bio, she has mentored several local female political candidates and advocated for women’s political representation.

 News sources: The Journal Gazette, City of Fort Wayne

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Black women mayors: Campaigning and governing in America

March 2024: Political Black Girl Magic* explores black women’s experiences as mayors in American cities. Sharon Wright Austin, the book's editor, and some 20 additional contributors to this comprehensive volume examine American Black female mayoral campaigns and elections where race and gender were a factor and where deracialised campaigns garnered candidate support from white as well as Hispanic and Asian American voters.

 

The book also explores how Black women mayors govern. The publication’s contributors review the mayors’ pursuit of economic growth and how they use their power to enact reforms. Great attention is paid to the challenges Black women mayors face particularly in their pursuit to cater to neglected communities.

 

Case studies in this interdisciplinary publication include female mayors in Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Compton, and Washington DC, among other cities. Covering mayors from the 1970s to the present, Political Black Girl Magic identifies the most significant obstacles black women have faced as mayors and mayoral candidates and seeks to understand how race, gender or the combination of both affected them.

 

REVIEWS

By Marcia Chatelain, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author

“An impressive, well-researched, and thorough look at the complex leadership of Black women mayors. The editor and contributors explore the impact of race and gender in the elections, administrative styles, and media coverage about Black women in positions of power and offer provocative questions and answers about the nature of politics in the United States. With a depth and scope that recognises the distinct features of region and location, Political Black Girl Magic is essential reading for anyone interested in leadership and racial justice.”

 

By Keneshia N. Grant, Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University

“Sharon Wright Austin has assembled a dynamic team of mostly women scholars to cover an important yet understudied topic: Black women in American state and local government and politics. Thick with carefully detailed demographic data and individual case studies of Black women’s campaigns and governance, Political Black Girl Magic takes readers from the election of the first Black woman mayor through to the politics of today. This book is an outstanding and significant contribution to the discipline.”

 

By Ethnic and Racial Studies

"The book answers the call for research on Black female mayors in an admirably detailed, comprehensive, and instructive fashion.... The book should serve as a valuable sourcebook for future research on this vital topic."

 

*Political Black Girl Magic is published by Temple University Press and available from online and high street booksellers. (ISBN 1439920273)

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Further reading: US Women Mayors)

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Des Moines’ first woman mayor tells girls to dream big

January 2024: On Monday, 8 January 2024, Des Moines’ first woman mayor took office with much anticipation. Only standing room remained in the city’s council chamber as Connie Boesen was sworn in. She was strongly applauded when she expressed her hope that this moment would serve as an example for young girls and women who aspire to hold executive office. “Everything can be possible, you just have to dream big”, Mayor Boesen said.

 

Connie Boesen added she was honoured and humbled by the trust and support of the residents of Des Moines (Iowa) and pledged to work hard to improve the city’s safety, economy, and neighbourhoods. She also thanked her predecessor, Frank Cownie, for his leadership and service. Cownie, who endorsed Boesen before the election, did not seek re-election after serving as mayor for 20 years.

 

In 2017, Connie Boesen was elected city councillor at-large, meaning she did not represent a particular district. Previously, she was on the Des Moines School Board for 14 years. She is affiliated to the Democratic Party.

 

During the election campaign, Connie Boesen often referred to her upbringing in Des Moines’ culturally mixed east side. She said that her priority as mayor was to tackle liveability issues and public safety. And, she added, that with education being her first love, she would fight for high-quality schools.

 

Des Moines, the state capital of Iowa, has a population of some 215,000. The city was founded in 1843 and incorporated in 1851. (Further reading: US Women Mayors)

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First Somali-American mayor in the US starts work in Minnesota

January 2024: Nadia Mohamed, a 27-year-old Somali woman who grew up in the Kakuma refugee camp, has been sworn in as the mayor of St Louis Park in Minnesota. She is the first Somali-American mayor elected in the US. The city of St Louis Park, with a population of 50,000, is part of the Minneapolis metro region.

 

Born in Somalia, Nadia Mohamed migrated with her family to Kenya as a refugee during the civil war in her home country. They lived in the Kakuma refugee camp which is one of the oldest and largest in Africa. In 2006, the Mohamed family emigrated to the US and settled in St Louis Park. After obtaining a degree in HR from Minnesota State University, Nadia was elected to St Louis Park’s city council. Aged only 23, she became the youngest-ever and first Muslim council member.

 

Asked by the New York Times what motivated her to go into politics, she said she grew up during the Barack Obama presidency and during that time didn’t think much about politics. But when Donald Trump ran for President in 2016 and attacked the Somali community in Minnesota, she felt she had to reconnect with her community in St Louis Park.

 

Nadia Mohamed cited as her political role models Deqa Dhalac and Mana Abdi, both members of the House of Representatives in Maine.

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