Three of the five candidates who earned at-large spots on the Peoria City Council were elected for the first time. And three retained their seat at the half circle at City Hall.

All five want to get things done for Peoria, like improving the economic climate and making the city a healthier, safer community.

Dr. Bernice Gordon-Young was the big winner in the cumulative voting that ended April 4 with nearly 16% of the 55,915 votes cast to earn her first term on the Council. “I believe in Peoria — the people of Peoria,” the professional psychotherapist said. “We just need a boost — in education, in health care.”

John Kelly was re-elected to a second term and wants to continue the work he has done in economic development.

“I’ve been a fiscal watchdog,” the retired financial adviser said. “This location is not particularly valuable. That’s what I want to improve — make Peoria the best place to build, the best place to live.”

Kiran Velpula won his first election to retain the seat he was appointed to after Rita Ali was elected mayor. The first Asian and Indian elected to a seat in 180 years of the City Council believes Peoria can be a destination with its Biotech base, which can also attract peripheral companies — like the ever-expanding Pringle Robotics — to take root here.

“With Bradley, ICC, the hospitals, also the USDA Ag Lab, Jump Trading, we already have the infrastructure,” the cancer researcher and associate professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine said. “The majority of people do not recognize what Peoria is about. Peoria welcomes anybody and everybody to our city with health care. Our hospitals are all lit up on the highway. I want to be the liaison between governance and health care.”

Mike Vespa earned a first term and wants to keep people in Peoria — defend the city as a destination. “I want to get people to live in Peoria — in Downtown Peoria,” the former Peoria County public defender said. “Live here as opposed to living across the river.

“My concern is people working from home, not in Peoria. Earning a check here, but not spending those dollars in Peoria.”

Zachary Oyler won a third term among the 10 candidates on the ballot, and the real estate agent says he’s ready to work with the two new members. “The two that we are getting are the right choices and I look forward to working with them,” he told the Peoria Journal Star on election night. “With Bernice Gordon-Young and Mike Vespa, I think we can get things done.”

Gordon-Young has been getting things done for her community her whole life. She founded It Takes a Village of Peoria, Inc., which is a nonprofit organization that has been providing free food, clothing and supplies to the community for some seven years.

“Working at the jail changed my life,” said Gordon-Young, who earned her Ph.D. recently. “To be there every day — seeing the revolving door — sparked something in me.”

She believes a healthier city makes for a safer, more prosperous Peoria. There is a shortage of services right now. Continuity of care can reduce the recidivism that plagues the community.

“I am so passionate about mental health,” she says. “There is another piece that is very unique: Some people don’t have anywhere to go. With backlogs, the process is taking longer. We need to implement services before folks get out — a head check. These people need an advocate.

“Make it cool to check your mental health.”

Vespa agrees: “I’m a public defender. So I am familiar that a lot of people need treatment. I want to make sure people have access to health care, improving mental health.”

Velpula is not only working on healthier humans, he envisions health care helping the city economically. He talks about a pipeline “from middle school to medical school.” He wants to help students who come here from outside the city to become “Peorianized.”

“The Cancer Institute attracts more and more talent. We need to retain that talent. I am a champion of small business and economic development. I live in the space of Biotech and small business. We can be a Biotech hub.”

Kelly envisions improving the health of the city by increasing the value of living in Peoria.

“The assessed value is not improving,” said Kelly, who is proud that he convinced the Council to pass a tax abatement on new housing in lower-rent neighborhoods. Now he’s pushing to include house rehabilitation, and to get money back into Public Works. “I’ve tried hard to do direction changing. I am very happy with that. Improving the economic climate mitigates the problems we have.”

Speaking of problems, Vespa, who is opposed to the proposed CO2 pipeline, wants to get guns

and drugs off the streets. “I sup-port gun buybacks,” he said. “I’m in favor of more cannabis dispensaries to earn more revenue that way and make it safer instead of getting it on the streets. Cure Violence is getting up and running. Social workers should be able to respond to calls.”

Social work is Gordon-Young’s forte. Her ITAV facilitates countless charity events and she advocates for the Young Minds Project and Smart Recovery Counseling Center.

Like all her council classmates, Gordon-Young is eager to get to work together.

“I stand in the shadow of our elders,” she said. “There has to be people to stand in the gap.”