Springfield, IL (WAND) – When Teresa Tran decided to run for Springfield City Council, she knew there could be hate comments online and people who didn’t agree with her platform. What she didn’t expect was threats from someone else in politics.
Tran said a man who identified himself as a committeeperson for Sangamon County Democratic Party Precinct 15 called her multiple times at her nonprofit workplace. When she called him back, the phone call included insults, racial remarks and ultimatums to drop out of the race.
Tran read notes from the call to WAND News, saying part of the conversation went as follows:
Man: I also saw that you did some work for the Asian American Legislative Caucus Foundation. Do you even know how many of you are? Do you even know how many Asians are in Springfield?
Tran: Well, I just want to let you know, I’m representing more than just Asian Americans. It’s Ward 8. It’s union members, it’s teachers, it’s small business owners, you know, all of it. But I do know my demographics, so it is 2 to 3%.
Man: 2 to 3%, that’s comical. You people will not make a difference in Springfield.
Tran said the man went on to tell her she needed to drop out of the race if she ever wanted to succeed in the city or county’s political sphere.
“If you don’t drop your race, I have legal ties, I got political ties and I will make sure we form a coalition against you to where you never run [for] a political position in your life,” said Tran, recounting the call.
She said the caller also sent follow-up text messages, including one that gave her a deadline: “This is the final message I’m going to send. You have until Friday to withdraw your candidacy, or I will begin building a larger coalition of committee persons against you.”
Tran said the caller repeatedly told her the Democratic Party, its chair and her opponent did not support her. She reminded him that city council is a nonpartisan race.
Tran said she brought her concerns to the Sangamon County Democratic Party chair and was told by other committee precinct persons that they did as well. After communicating back and forth, Tran said she never heard the result of the party’s conversation with the individual. Instead, the party chair told her to reach out to law enforcement if she felt threatened.
Tran did, submitting a police report to the Springfield Police Department. She told WAND News on Tuesday that it has been a month since she filed the report and she hasn’t heard anything back.
Tran ended up taking her story public, sharing text messages and summaries of the call with the man on social media.
“The response has been absolutely overwhelming. Nine people ended up coming up, messaging me and said, ‘Hey, this is exactly what happened to me with either him or the party,'” Tran said.
Now, she’s searching for accountability. She wants the Sangamon County Democratic Party to issue a public statement against the man’s actions.
“This is absolutely unacceptable, especially for someone who has a political title, whether it be a precinct committee person or a chair. It is intimidation, it is racism, it is discrimination,” Tran said.
Tran’s opponent, Erin Conley, denounced the threats and behavior on social media. The Sangamon County Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.
