Chicago’s 46th Ward Democrats

The 46th Ward Democrats are committed to electing Democrats and supporting progressive policies at all levels of government.

​We were a leading force in the election of President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, with over 1,000 46th ward residents travelling to the key swing states of Iowa and Indiana to knock on doors for his campaign. In the past decade we have hosted national figures including former DNC Chairman Howard Dean, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, 2016 Vice-Presidential Nominee Senator Tim Kaine and President Obama himself, who spent his 50th birthday at Uptown’s own Aragon Ballroom.

In 2018, we are fighting for Democratic victories up and down the ticket. We are focused on getting out the vote in our own neighborhood and volunteering for Democratic nominee and scientist Sean Casten in the suburban 6th Congressional District – a race critical to Democratic efforts to take back the majority in the U.S. House.

Our members come from every part – and every precinct - of the 46th ward and represent the great diversity of our neighborhoods. Join us and make a difference.


Our 46th Ward Officials

Connect with the Democratic Party at all levels:


Democratic National Committee


Democratic Party of Illinois


Cook County Democratic Party


Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee


Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee


Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

Elected in April 2023, Angela Clay became 46th Ward Alderperson on May 15th 2023.

Angela was born and raised in the 46th Ward, where her family has lived for over 80 years. Her Irish, German, Black, and Native American grandparents raised their multi-racial, multi-generational family in an affordable home on Hazel and Sunnyside. Angela attended Joseph Brennemann Elementary School, where she's sits on the Local School Council. She graduated from Uplift Community High School, the only high school in the 46th Ward. At Uplift, Angela was a student leader and founding member of Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE), researching the high school dropout rate. Recommendations that she and her peers made are still being used by CPS to this day.

Committed to developing policy solutions that would have a positive effect on the lives of ward residents, she went on to earn a degree from DePaul University in public policy. At 22, she became the youngest ever president of Voice of the People in Uptown, a non-profit with over 51 years of work in the community protecting and providing affordable housing.

After giving birth early in the pandemic, Angela organized mutual aid in the community, ensuring that everyone had the resources they needed during a moment of crisis, all with a new baby on her hip. Living here her whole life, Angela has a deep understanding of the diverse communities across this ward and has been working since she was a teenager to bring people together and implement policies that improve the lives of neighbors all across the ward.

46th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Sean Tenner has spent his career working for organizations and officials dedicated to social justice and the public interest. Tenner served on President Obama’s campaign staff during both his U.S. Senate and Presidential campaigns and has worked for 20 years to successfully elect Democrats at every level of government. In addition to leading the Uptown-based consulting firm KNI Communications, he has held leadership roles in a wide variety of innovative non-profit organizations addressing issues important to 46th ward residents.

One of Tenner’s personal passions is addressing the alarming rise of hate crimes, bigotry and intolerance in our current political climate. He helps lead Illinois public policy for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the world’s leading anti-hate groups. The Center runs the acclaimed Museum of Tolerance and carries on the legacy of the Holocaust survivor and acclaimed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal.

Tenner was appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in November 2012 – and reappointed in 2015 – to the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission following years of human rights work. On the Commission, he works alongside legislators and other state leaders to develop initiatives related to holocaust and genocide education. He was an early leader in the Save Darfur movement in Illinois and works closely with refugees from the violence in Darfur and South Sudan who have built new lives in the North Side of Chicago. Tenner also works with North Side residents who fled Apartheid in South Africa, serving on the Board of Color Me Africa Fine Arts which brings Apartheid-era protest artists to Chicagoland to share their stories and their lessons in perseverance.

Tenner has done work related to post-conflict reconciliation in both Rwanda and Northern Ireland, and has also been profiled by CNN for his work founding the Uptown-based Abolition Institute, which successfully advocated for $4.5 million in federal funding to fight modern day slavery in West Africa.

As a former President of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Chicagoland Affiliate, Tenner has worked for over a decade with our State Representatives Greg Harris and Sara Feigenholtz to pass landmark pieces of breast cancer legislation in the Illinois General Assembly: requiring insurance coverage of breast cancer screenings recommended by physicians (2015), requiring insurance coverage of medical costs related to cancer clinical trials (2011), establishing numerous crucial new state programs to fight breast cancer through the “Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities Act” (2009) and requiring insurance coverage and state standards for potentially lifesaving clinical breast exams (2007). Tenner is also working to address the epidemic of youth suicides through his work on the Board of Directors of Hope for the Day / Sip of Hope -- one of the nation’s most innovative mental health organizations.

Tenner lives on Buena Avenue with his wife Shiwali, who founded the non-profit Indian dance organization Tribhang to raise awareness of global women’s rights issues. He is proud of his mother Nancy, a former pre-school teacher and his father Gene who is active in Buena Park Neighbors and recently honored as 46th Ward Senior of the Year for his tireless community work.