New members set to join the Bloomington City Council next year

Posted on November 29, 2022
Monday was the deadline for council candidates to file nominating petitions with the city’s election commission. There are only two contested races. (Youtube/City of Bloomington)

By 25 News

BLOOMINGTON – Only one incumbent whose term expires next year is running for re-election to the Bloomington City Council.

Monday was the deadline for council candidates to file nominating petitions with the city’s election commission. There are only two contested races.

Incumbent Donna Boelen is running unopposed on the April ballot for Ward 2, which covers Bloomington’s southwest side.

In Ward 4, incumbent Julia Emig, who’s on medical leave, did not file for a second term for a district that includes parts of Downtown Bloomington and the near east side,

The two candidates competing to replace Emig are retired Woodford County Highway Department employee Steven Nalefski and John Wyatt Danenberger. Danenberger’s LinkedIn page shows that he’s an attorney for State Farm Insurance.

The other contested race is in Ward 6, which covers other parts of downtown and Bloomington’s west side. Incumbent De Urban is not running for a full, four-year term. Filing nominating petitions for that seat are Cody Hendricks and Jordan Baker.

Hendricks is a history teacher at Olympia High School in Stanford and a former Pekin City Council member. Baker works in the district office for State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington), and one of his college professors at Illinois Wesleyan University was former Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner.

Attorney Jenna Kearns is the only candidate filing petitions for Ward 1, which includes south Bloomington.

In Ward 8, the only candidate on the ballot is Kent Lee, who has worked 22 years as an analyst at State Farm. Incumbent Jeff Crabill is not running for a second term representing portions of Bloomington’s southeast side.

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