CHA’s Matthew Brewer joins the race for mayor

Accusing Mayor Brandon Johnson of dividing Chicago and “alienating and demonizing” its business community, Chicago Housing Authority board member Matthew Brewer on Thursday became the first African American challenger to join the race for mayor of Chicago.At a time when the mayor’s power has been diminished by a fully elected school board and oversight boards over the CTA and the Chicago Police Department, Brewer said what Chicago needs most is a mayor with the established relationships to get along with the City Council, the governor and the Illinois General Assembly.If Johnson were truly the “collaborator-in-chief” he claims to be, Brewer said, the mayor would not have “all of the fractured relationships and power struggles” that have made him unable to “find common ground” at every level of government.“My approach to leadership is bringing everyone together around similarity, rather than trying to alienate people along lines of difference,” Brewer, 46, told the Chicago Sun-Times.“I have lots of relationships — in government, in business, in community. I wouldn’t be walking in figuring out how to turn the lights on and looking at the phone book and figuring out who to call. It would be me reaching out to people [with whom] I’ve had relationships, in some cases for decades as a professional and as a leader in the city. That baseline level of credibility and rapport goes a long way.” Related Amid power struggle with Brandon Johnson, CHA’s Matthew Brewer weighs running for mayor Brewer said he has had a “front row…

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