Tiffany Henyard, whose stint as mayor of Dolton, Illinois, was marked by scandals and accusations of impropriety, appears to be attempting to relaunch her political career. In doing so, Henyard has adopted a new state and a new party, with the former Illinois Democrat now running in Georgia as a Republican.
Scandal-plagued former Democratic Illinois mayor reemerges as a Republican candidate in Georgia
The Hill reported that Henyard has moved to Georgia and has qualified to run as a district commissioner in Fulton County. Henyard, who has been a Democrat throughout her political career, filed in Fulton County as a Republican and is the only GOP candidate in the primary race. By running unopposed in the Republican primary, Henyard is positioned to compete in November’s general election against whichever of the four Democratic candidates wins the Party’s primary. The move to Georgia and switch to the GOP is a surprising move for Henyard, who served as the Democratic mayor of Dolton and Thornton Township supervisor. Blavity interviewed Henyard in 2024, in which she defended her record, denied the allegations against her and dismissed comparisons to the bumbling bureaucrats in the sitcom Parks and Recreation and the villain Nino Brown from the film New Jack City.
Henyard lost her 2025 reelection bid after she was overwhelmingly defeated in the February Democratic primary, with her opponent taking nearly 90% of the vote. WGN 9 reported that Henyard registered as a Georgia voter on February 27, 2025, two days after her primary loss in Illinois. The timing of her Georgia registration raises doubt over whether she meets the one-year residency requirement for running for county offices in Georgia. Even if she is eligible to run, Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, explained to WGN that Henyard has an uphill battle in Fulton County, which contains Atlanta and various suburbs.
“This is someone who hasn’t had much of a chance to establish roots, and she’s going to be running against people who have far deeper roots in the community,” Gillespie said. “That might be her undoing. It might not be her scandalous past, it might be she hasn’t lived long enough in this district.”
Henyard maintains a stance of being unbothered by scandals
As Blavity noted when we interviewed Henyard, who has also been referred to as the “mafia mayor” by critics, she has also been accused of mismanaging public funds and of conducting public shakedowns, soliciting donations from local businesses and allegedly retaliating against those who didn’t contribute. Henyard was even confronted by an activist at a Thornton Township Board of Trustees meeting in an encounter that devolved into a physical altercation. Henyard faces a federal investigation over potential mismanagement of Thornton Township funds, though she currently faces no criminal charges.
Henyard, who has always denied the allegations against her, seems unconcerned about the scrutiny she faces over her reputation or her changes of party and location.
“I am a Georgia Peach now,” she declared in a 36-minute Facebook video post while complaining about critics “lying on me” and “fake news” about her.
“If you want the tea, like I say, get it from me,” Henyard declared. She played a variety of songs during the video, including MC Hammer’s “Too Legit to Quit” and Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” while also instructing voters in her former city of Dolton to vote against a referendum to increase term limits in the city. Addressing her new home, Henyard said, “I just want to be the change for the community I now live in,” claiming that Georgians have approached her with issues they hope she can resolve. She dismissed criticisms over party labels, comparing them to arguments over sports teams.
“At the end of the day,” Henyard declared, “as long as we are helping each other and we are coming together, no matter what you are, that’s all that matters.”
The coming months will reveal whether Fulton County voters accept Henyard’s appeal or whether her political baggage from Illinois and lack of long-term roots in Georgia hinder her latest campaign. With unanswered questions about her financial management in Dolton and uncertainty about her future in Fulton County, Henyard remains an unusual political figure looking to make a comeback unexpectedly. unexpected way.