Chicago first US city to elect black, gay woman as mayor

Chicago mayor elect Lori Lightfoot (left) celebrates with daughter Vivian (centre) and wife Amy Eshleman. Pic/AFP

Chicago on Tuesday became the biggest US city to elect a black woman its mayor, as voters put their faith in an openly-gay political novice to tackle difficult problems of economic inequality and gun violence.

Lori Lightfoot, a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, won the Midwestern city's mayoral race in a lopsided victory. She beat out Toni Preckwinkle, a career politician who is also black, by a wide margin of 74 to 26 percent with most ballots counted.

"We were up against powerful interests," Lightfoot said in a victory speech, with her wife and young daughter by her side. Lightfoot will become Chicago's first openly gay mayor as well as the first African America woman to hold the post. Her ascendancy to the top of Chicago government was a stunning development in a city where insider deals and entrenched party politics held sway for decades.

Lightfoot will replace outgoing mayor Rahm Emanuel former president Barack Obama's first White House chief of staff. The powerful Emanuel sustained political damage for his handling of murder of black teenager Laquan McDonald and declined to run for a third term.

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