On Feb. 25, City of Peoria voters will have two options for the Consolidated Primary Election: a nonpartisan ballot containing City of Peoria races for Mayor, City Treasurer and City Council Dist. 2 (only voters living within Dist. 2 will have a ballot with this race); and a Republican Primary ballot with one partisan race — for Peoria Township Assessor. If you live within Peoria Township and request a Republican Ballot, you will be able to vote for this race as well as the nonpartisan races above.
There is no Democratic primary ballot because there are no contested Democratic races.
Mayor
Peoria’s mayoral race pits incumbent Rita Ali and current councilmen Chuck Grayeb and John Kelly.
- Seeking her second term, Ali previously served a term as an At-Large Councilwoman. She’s a former Illinois Central College administrator.
- Grayeb has served on the Council for 23 years, as an At-Large Member and 2nd Dist. Councilman. He’s a retired Peoria Public Schools administrator.
- Kelly is a retired financial adviser who’s served two terms as an At-Large Council member, first elected in 2019.
Treasurer
- Jim Montelongo is an ex-Councilman and unsuccessful candidate for mayor.
- Brooke Sommerville is Chief Deputy in the Peoria County Clerk’s office.
- Asya Washum formerly was Chief Financial Officer for the Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity.
City Council
The race to replace Grayeb as Dist. 2 Council Member has first-time candidates vying for the seat encompassing downtown and much of the Center Bluff and West Bluff.
- Alex Carmona is an artist born and raised in Greeley Colo. He relocated to Peoria five years ago.
- Estrella Diaz is a first-generation U.S. citizen who works at Caterpillar.
- Krista Wresinski works for Advanced Medical Transport, having moved to Peoria in 2020. She previously worked in law enforcement in McLean County and in Indiana.
Township Assessor
Republican voters’ additional ballot has two candidates competing to be the Republican candidate for Peoria Township Assessor to replace current Assessor Max Schlafley in the April 1 consolidated general election. Both Andrew Couri and Terry Grawey have certificates of educational qualifications for the position, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
April election
The remainder of the April 1 election will see City Council Dist. 1 incumbent Denise Jackson vs. James Kemper; 3rd District Councilman Tim Riggenback running unopposed; incumbent 4th District Councilman Andre Allen versus challenger James Messmore; incumbent 5th District Councilman Denis Cyr against Hund Abi-Akar; City Clerk Stefanie Tarr running unopposed; and incumbent Peoria Township Supervisor LaTrina Leary, a Democrat facing Republican Anita Meeker and former Township Frank Abdnour, running as an Independent.
Also, County-wide ballots will see elections for school boards from these school districts:
Bartonville, Brimfield, Dunlap, Elmwood, Farmington, Hollis, Illini Bluffs, IVC, Limestone, Limestone-Walters, Monroe, Norwood, Oak Grove, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Pleasant Hill and Pleasant Valley — plus a seat for the Peoria County Regional Board of School Trustees.
— For more information, go online to peoriaelections.gov