Marilyn Morales for Chicago City Clerk

Color photograph of Marilyn Morales on a light blue background with dark blue and black text and blue lines below

Marilyn Morales ran for Chicago City Clerk in the 2011 election. The City Clerk position is the second highest ranking office in the city, responsible for not only maintaining official records of city government, but also issuing various city licenses and permits. At the time, Morales would have been the highest-ranking gay person and the first Latina to hold the position. However, she fell short of the required 12,500 signatures by the November deadline. Despite this, Morales was grateful for all the support she received, and proud of how far she came from her grassroots origins.

Morales was born and raised in Chicago and has over 20 years public service experience, having worked for the Illinois Department of Human Rights, as operations manager for the Chicago Park District, and on the Advisory Board at the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. She vowed to continue her public service.