Pension Election

Experience Wins Big in Chicago Teachers Pension Fund Election 

By Jim Vail

CTPF retired Trustee Lois Nelson was re-elected
with the most votes.

The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund election results show minority status and experience played a big role in who won.

All three retired teacher trustees won re-election: Lois Nelson (5,033 votes), Mary Sharon Reilly (4,207 votes) and Maria J. Rodriguez (4,143 votes).

The two winning active teacher trustees were Quentin Washington (1,966 votes) and Victor Ochoa (1,800 votes).

The Chicago Teachers Union leadership caucus Core won three of the five trustee seats - Nelson, Reilly and Washington. Reilly the vice president of the pension fund was the only non-minority candidate to win her election.

The Members First opposition caucus won one teacher trustee position - Ochoa, a Latino who was previously affiliated with the former UPC ruling party before Core and Karen Lewis won in 2010.

The biggest surprise perhaps was the victory of Maria J. Rodriguez who ran as an independent and defeated the two parties who both fielded three retired teacher trustee candidates along with more resources. Core sent out an expensive postcard mailer to active and retired teachers, while Members First promoted their candidates on their active Facebook page.

About one-third of the retired teachers voted in this election, while only 12 percent of active teachers voted for their pension candidates.

Experience played a big role in this election. All three retired trustees who were re-elected in a crowded field of candidates had served for many years on the fund - VP trustee Reilly has over 20 years of experience on the fund while Rodriguez has served 16 years. Nelson has 8 years of experience.

CTPF woes began last summer when  President Jeffery Blackwell said the fund was rife with racism and misogyny. He then pushed the board to pass a resolution to censure three female minority trustees and reprimand one female trustee. His attack, which some say was politically motived, has either backfired or fizzled out.

Retired trustees Rodriguez and Reilly were re-elected despite the board's censures and reprimands. The other two teacher trustees who were censured were Gervaise Clay, who did not run for re-election, and Tina Padilla, who was not up for re-election.

Minority trustees continue to serve on a pension fund that is one of the leaders in the country when it comes to hiring people of color. Reilly, a white female trustee, who received the second highest vote total of retired teachers, had been reprimanded for using racist language. Reilly ran with Core who has made the fight against racism a top issue. 

Members First fielded three white female retired teacher candidates who all lost. Although MF made the censures an election issue, it did not play a role in the election results. Core's Lois Nelson received 3,000 more votes than Kathleen Cleary who runs their website.

The number of retired teachers who voted by paper ballots and online was about the same. 48 percent of retired teachers voted online and 52 percent voted by mail.