Chicago Teachers Union elects Stacy Davis Gates as new president, keeps CORE slate in power

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union voted Friday on who should lead the group for the next three years.

They elected CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates president of the union, current CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.

Other candidates for president were Mary Esposito-Usterbowski and Darnell Dowd.

Rank-and-file members of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators leadership slate, led by CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, Vice President Jackson Potter, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno and Recording Secretary Christel Williams-Hayes. CORE was re-elected with 56% of the total vote.

Challenging slate Members First gained 27% of the vote while REAL gathered 17% of the vote, Sharkey's announcement said.

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Earlier this spring, Jesse Sharkey announced he would not seek re-election. Sharkey will have served four terms in CTU leadership when he leaves his position in June 2022. He will return to the classroom as an educator.