Meet Harvey’s 2027 City Treasurer candidates
Harvey’s incumbent treasurer went nearly eight years having only delivered a handful of reports due to mayoral gridlock. Two people have filed for the role, with a clear need to re-establish the office’s independence.
Layoffs and furloughs rocked Harvey in 2025, resulting in an immediate uproar from residents with one key question: how did this happen?
Not even city treasurer Aisha Pickett could provide an answer. For six years, the Clark administration had blocked her from having access to the city’s accounts.
State law does not require a treasurer to be a certified public accountant. But now deceased mayor Chris Clark acknowledged that Pickett did not hold the credentials in an attempt to delegitimize her complaints while blocking her from delivering a treasurer’s report. Pickett delivered an ad hoc report of own during public comment. He almost censured Pickett and Alds. Colby Chapman (2nd) and Tracy Key (4th) after the three co-hosted a financial literacy workshop.
Treasurers track operating funds, manage Harvey’s investment portfolio, and monitor debts to ensure on-time payments. The role is particularly unique from a comptroller, who oversees Harvey’s day-to-day finances.
Elected in 2019, Pickett has decided not to pursue a third term. The next treasurer will likely need to rebuild confidence and public trust in bookkeeping, re-establish the office as an entity independent from political polarization, and set an investment agenda that generates returns for Harvey residents.
With the seat wide open, here’s who filed to be Harvey’s custodian of public funds.
Glynis James-Watson
Glynia James-Watson moved to Harvey in 2021 from Evanston, after living there for 30 years. “I’ve attended more city council meetings in the two years I’ve lived in Harvey than I did in 30 years living in Evanston,” she said. “I feel almost like I’m obligated to because I want to know what’s going on,” she told the HWH in 2023.
James-Watson became a vocal critic of municipal transparency and advocate for open government. In 2025, deceased mayor Chris Clark ordered police to ticket her for whispering during a City Council meeting. She was fined $500 for disorderly conduct, and began wearing a sweatshirt reading “denied my right to free speech” at meetings.
She holds a master’s degree in divinity and master’s degree in business business administration. James-Watson works as a budget and management analyst at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Political allyships: Colby Chapman, Sharron McGee, Amanda Askew
See James-Watson’s election packet here.
Donald Drewenski
Donald Drewenski is acting mayor Shirley Drewenski’s brother and a Harvey native. He has a twin brother named Ronald Drewenski. Donald Drewenski has often helped his sister politically: he successfully filed objections against Charles “Chuck” Givines to knock him off the ballot against his sister in the 2023 1st Ward race, clearing the way for his sister to run unopposed for her fourth term.
Donald and Shirley co-owned a cottage in La Porte County, Indiana, that he uses on weekends, as of 2019, according to La Porte County records. Twin brother Ronald Drewenski indicated that he lived with Shirley in Harvey but Donald did not indicate where he lived, according to those same records. Some question Donald’s Harvey residency.
Political allyships: Shirley Drewenski, Janet Rogers, Telanee Smith, Rosa Arambula, Marshun Tolbert, Waynemond Cotton
See Drewenski’s election packet here.
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