CHICAGO, Ill. – Naisy Dolar is poised to become the Chicago City Council’s first Alderman of Asian Pacific American descent and, at 34, the council’s youngest member. She won run-off status in the February primary in a cliffhanger of a race and now faces 50th Ward (Far North Side) incumbent Alderman Bernard Stone, 79, who has represented the ward for 33 years, on Apr. 17.
Dolar’s campaign galvanized the Asian Pacific American community from the beginning, bombarding community leaders with e-mails, frequent updates and invitations to numerous fundraisers in and outside the 50th Ward.
She also received support from both sides of the aisle (while the Aldermanic race is technically non-partisan, Dolar is a known Democrat, as is the incumbent Stone).
Dolar surprised many by receiving the important endorsements of the Chicago Tribune the Chicago Sun-Times, and the support of progressive political organizations.
High-profile Asian Pacific American politicos have been involved in her race, like Rep. Mike Honda, who joined former congressional candidate L. Tammy Duckworth, now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, at a February Chicago fundraising appearance.
Dolar holds a M.A. in Community Counseling from Roosevelt University and a B.S. in Applied Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She has also worked as a strong advocate for multiculturalism and civic participation over the last ten years. She has held positions at Loyola University Chicago’s Office of Student Diversity and the City of Chicago’s YouthNet Administrative Office. She also continues to work as a diversity trainer for the Anti-Defamation League’s “A World of Difference Program”.
Dolar’s years as a community leader and experience in the non-profit sector have prepared her well for the candidate role. She has a broad platform for improving the 50th Ward, and she brings energy and enthusiasm as a political newcomer.
A longtime resident of West Ridge Park, her family migrated to the neighborhood from the Philippines when she was 3 years old.
She now lives with her husband Ben, a Chicago police officer, raising their two young children in the very same house where she grew up.