Anna M. Valencia (born January 16, 1985) is an American politician who serves as the

City Clerk of Chicago The City Clerk of Chicago is in charge of record-keeping for the city of Chicago and its elections. When the Chicago City Council is in session, the City Clerk serves as council secretary. This position is a citywide elected office, one of three ...

. She was appointed to the position vacated by Susana Mendoza, and took office in 2017. She was elected to a full term as City Clerk in 2019. She unsuccessfully ran for Illinois Secretary of State in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Early life and education

Valencia was raised in

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, ...

, the daughter of Joe and Debbie Valencia. She is of Mexican descent. She attended the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...

where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies.

Early political career

Valencia was a staff member for Mike Quigley's congressional election campaign in 2009 and for Michigan Representative

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...

's congressional election campaign in 2010. Valencia was a member of a Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs team for Chicago Mayor

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current United States Ambassador to Japan. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served two terms as the 55th Mayor of Chicago from 2011 ...

in 2011 and later served as its director from April 2016 until January 2017. She was the campaign manager for Senator

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...

in 2014. In 2015, she was a Senior Advisor for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s re-election campaign.

City Clerk

She was appointed as City Clerk in December 2016, and was sworn into office on January 25, 2017. She ran to continue her tenure as City Clerk in the 2019 election. After two challengers were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures, she was unopposed and won election to a full term.

Municipal ID program

In the fall of 2016, $1 million was set aside in the City Clerk's budget for Chicago's Municipal ID program which will allow all residents the ability to apply for a government-issued ID. Since taking office, Valencia has announced that the Municipal ID card will be a three-in-one card so that it can also be used as transit and library cards. In December 2017, Clerk Valencia announced the pilot program and that the card would be called the "CityKey" with the first 100,000 IDs being free.

2022 Secretary of State campaign

In June 2021, Valencia announced her candidacy for Illinois Secretary of State in the 2022 election to succeed longtime, outgoing incumbent Jesse White. Valencia has been endorsed by White, Governor

J.B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

, and U.S. Senators

and

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented ...

. On June 28, 2022, Valencia lost the Democratic primary to former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

Personal life

Valencia is married and lives in Chicago. On April 15, 2020, she gave birth to a daughter, Reyana Joy Valencia Kazmi.

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valencia, Anna M. 1985 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians City and town clerks Hispanic and Latino American politicians Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Illinois Democrats Living people Mexican-American people in Illinois politics People from Granite City, Illinois Politicians from Chicago University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Women in Illinois politics