Candidates are lining up to run for Peoria District seats.
It’s only January, but candidates for some Peoria District City Council races are already looking toward the spring elections.
Sandberg Not Running for 1st District
Gary Sandburg, a current at-large City Council member, attempted to place his name on the ballot to run for the 1st District seat. However, the three-member commission that forms the Peoria Board of Election Commissioners voted unanimously last month in favor of Sandburg’s ineligibility to run in the 1st District race. The decision means the at-large City Councilman will not appear on the ballot in April for the 1st District seat. * Instead, candidates Randall Emert and Denise Moore will challenge one another in the general election. First District Councilman Clyde Gulley is not running for re-election.
This year’s election will take place April 9.
The Board’s decision came amidst Emert’s and Moore’s allegations that Sandberg had not lived in the 1st district for one year, the time period required to run. During his eligibility hearings, Sandberg argued he was required to live anywhere in the city of Peoria in order to run for a district seat; however, Illinois municipal code states that candidates must live in the district they wish to represent for at least one year in order to run in that district.
Although Sandburg will not be allowed to run for the 1st District seat, he will retain his current status as city councilman at-large, which he has held for 23 years. His term expires in 2015.
Hiccups in District Five
Dan Adler was removed from the ballot last month after it was concluded that his petitions were not notarized. Adler, 31, a senior engineer at Caterpillar and graduate of Michigan Technological University, officially announced his candidacy in a news release for the 5th District seat in August of last year. This is his first run for political office. *
Adler says he plans to run as a write-in candidate and focus his campaign on moving the city forward economically, increasing business competition in the region and strengthening civic participation. Development issues key to his campaign are completion of the Keller Branch Trail as well as securing funding for an underpass beneath Knoxville Avenue that will provide safe passage for trail users across the highway. The trail officially opened to the public last year but has raised safety concerns. Adler says public officials should raise capital for the under and overpass.
Other candidates on the ballot include incumbent Dan Irving and Casey Johnson.
Irving, who has held the district seat since April 2009, says he is confident he will run a strong campaign centered on preserving important city services and growing jobs in Peoria. The incumbent says he is proud of his track record the past two years and cites such accomplishments as helping Peoria progress in its collaborations with various governing bodies as well as staying in touch with constituent needs in his district.
Irving says he has worked hard to “move the council and the city in a positive direction.”
Patti Smith, a 58-year-old real estate agent filed the necessary paperwork with the Peoria Election Commission to withdraw from the race for the 5th district seat last month. Smith, who just began a new career in the real estate business, said she did not realize the amount of time it would take to run for public office. After finding success in her first year in real estate, she knew she had to make a choice in order to avoid being unable to put forth her best effort on the campaign trail.
“I can’t do both,” she said.
Who’s Running in District 2?
Chuck Grayeb, a longtime 2nd District resident and former at-large city councilman from 1995-2007, says he plans to run for the 2nd District seat currently held by incumbent Barbara Van Auken and address issues in public safety and historic preservation. Grayeb claims more “proactive representation” is needed to solve these issues.
He finished sixth in the April 2011 at-large election, nearly 500 votes behind Beth Akinson, who finished fifth. At-large council member seats are given to those candidates that finish in the top five.
All five district city council seats are up for election in April 2013.
* [Editor’s Note: Politics is a fast-moving thing. After this story was submitted, Sandburg announced that he’s appealing his removal from ballot and Adler announced his write-in candidacy, which pushes the city into a primary race.]