Anna Valencia
City Clerk of Chicago
Assumed office
January 25, 2017
Preceded bySusana Mendoza
Personal details
Born (1985-01-16) January 16, 1985
Granite City, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Reyahd Kazmi
​
(m. 2013)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)

Andrea Marie Valencia (born January 16, 1985) is an American politician who serves as the City Clerk of Chicago. She was appointed to the position vacated by Susana Mendoza, and took office in 2017.[1] She was elected to a full term as City Clerk in 2019.[2] Although unsuccessful in her run for Illinois Secretary of State in 2022, she won reelection to City Clerk in 2023.

Early life and education

Andrea Marie Valencia[3] was raised in Granite City, Illinois, the daughter of Joe and Debbie Valencia.[4] She is of Mexican descent.[4] She attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies.[4]

Early political career

Valencia was a staff member for Mike Quigley's congressional election campaign in 2009 and for Michigan Representative Gary Peters's congressional election campaign in 2010. Valencia was a member of a Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs team for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2011 and later served as its director from April 2016 until January 2017.[5] She was the campaign manager for Senator Dick Durbin in 2014. In 2015, she was a Senior Advisor for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign.[6]

City Clerk

She was appointed as City Clerk in December 2016, and was sworn into office on January 25, 2017.[7][1]

She ran to continue her tenure as City Clerk in the 2019 election. After two challengers were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures, she was unopposed and won election to a full term.[2]

Municipal ID program

In the fall of 2016, $1 million was set aside in the City Clerk's budget for Chicago's Municipal ID program which will allow all residents the ability to apply for a government-issued ID.[8] Since taking office, Valencia has announced that the Municipal ID card will be a three-in-one card so that it can also be used as transit and library cards.[9] In December 2017, Clerk Valencia announced the pilot program and that the card would be called the "CityKey" with the first 100,000 IDs being free.[10]

2022 Secretary of State campaign

In June 2021, Valencia announced her candidacy for Illinois Secretary of State in the 2022 election to succeed longtime, outgoing incumbent Jesse White.[11] Valencia has been endorsed by White,[12] Governor J. B. Pritzker,[13] and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.[14][15] On June 28, 2022, Valencia lost the Democratic primary to former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. [16]

Personal life

Valencia is married and lives in Chicago.[17] On April 15, 2020, she gave birth to a daughter, Reyana Joy Valencia Kazmi.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Spielman, Fran (January 25, 2017). "With two standing ovations, Valencia sworn in as city clerk". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Issa, Nader (February 26, 2019). "City Clerk Anna Valencia wins re-election after rivals tossed off ballot". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Oath of Office" (PDF). City of Chicago. January 25, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Eadens, Savannah (October 2, 2017). "Notable Native: Anna Valencia". Columbia Chronicle.
  5. ↑ "Anna Valencia, new City Clerk of Chicago". Negocios Now. January 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ Byrne, John; Dardick, Hal (December 14, 2016). "Mayor Emanuel picks 31-year-old City Council liaison for city clerk". Chicago Tribune.
  7. ↑ Spielman, Fran (December 13, 2016). "A star is born: Emanuel chooses Valencia as city clerk". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ "City Sets Aside $1 Million for Municipal ID Program". WTTW News. October 14, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ "You Can Use Chicago's New Municipal ID for the CTA, Library". NBC Chicago. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  10. ↑ Spielman, Fran (December 14, 2017). "Chicago's municipal ID card will be called 'CityKey' and cost $10". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ Byrne, John (June 7, 2021). "Chicago city clerk to run for Illinois secretary of state". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  12. ↑ Miller, Rich (2022-02-17). "Jesse White endorses Anna Valencia for Secretary of State". Capitol Fax. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  13. ↑ Miller, Rich (February 22, 2022). "Gov. Pritzker endorses Anna Valencia for secretary of state". Capitol Fax. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  14. ↑ Donovan, Lisa. "US Sen. Duckworth endorses City Clerk Anna Valencia's bid for Illinois secretary of state". chicagotribune.com.
  15. ↑ Miller, Rich. "Durbin endorses Valencia for secretary of state". Capitol Fax. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias winner in Democratic secretary of state race; will face state Rep. Dan Brady in November". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  17. ↑ "Mayor Names Anna Valencia As New City Clerk". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  18. ↑ Anna Valencia [@AnnaValenciaIL] (April 16, 2020). "Reyahd and I are excited to announce the arrival of Reyana Joy Valencia Kazmi, Tuesday April 15th, 6:25am at a fighting weight of 8lbs and 20 inches long. Thank you for all of the well wishes and prayers for our family. We are healthy and staying home. God Bless!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 19, 2020 – via Twitter.
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