Normal Town Council member Chemberly Harris on Friday announced that she is running for the office of mayor in next year's election.
Earlier this week, current Mayor Chris Koos said he will seek a sixth term in the April 25, 2025 consolidated election.
At the event, Harris — who was elected as the first Black member of the council in 2017 — touted her record on the council and in the community. Since adopting Normal as her home, she has volunteered building houses and delivery driving for Home Sweet Home Ministries. She also has served on the board of the Children’s Discovery Museum and worked to register voters.
Since joining the council, Harris has brought the first Racial Equity Summit to Normal, started a leadership program for youth in government, and become the region six director for the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
“Today I stand before you with a vision, passion, drive, and unwavering dedication,” she said to supporters outside the Savannah Green clubhouse, adding she sees a future where Normal “sets trends that other communities are eager to adopt.”
Harris spoke at length about her vision for Normal, including a establishing a living wage, “quality education at all levels,” attainable home ownership, investment in “quality of life amenities,” and fostering a safe and inclusive community.
“Together Normal thrives,” Harris concluded.
Referring to Koos' run for another four-year term, Harris said she is not deterred.
“Sometimes, you can have a longstanding relationship, but it doesn’t mean the other person doesn’t have relationships with stakeholders,” she told WGLT. “A new face isn’t always a bad thing, and having the ability to hear a different side of some things is also good as well.”
Harris also touted her experience on the town council as preparing her for a potential tenure as mayor.
“There’s a lot of stuff that I have been able to do in that seat beyond just to sit on the dais and make a vote,” she said. “I have shown that I know how to go the extra distance to make sure that someone’s advocating for our community, that’s bringing resources to our community.”
Harris ran unsuccessfully for the Illinois House in 2020 as a Democrat, losing to longtime Republican incumbent Dan Brady, who is now running for Bloomington mayor.
When asked about whether she is concerned about splitting the centrist and progressive vote with Koos, Harris reiterated the mayor and town council are non-partisan offices.
“I don’t want people to start thinking of me as just this very siloed or monolithic candidate, because I’m not,” she told WGLT. “I want to know people’s thoughts and I want them also to buy into the vision that we have for the community. And you can’t do that when people already have preconceived notions or unconscious bias just based off of you being labeled as being liberal.”
Harris also noted that a lot of change has come to Normal in recent years demographically when it comes to age and income level, and she foresees more of this down the road, presenting new challenges for local government.
“We have to take a step back and take another look at what this community looks like, and how do we serve the current community, not the community we’ve had in the past,” she said.
She added she doesn’t want “band-aid” fixes on important issues like housing “because this could come back around” and complex dynamics are always shifting.
Candidates for the spring 2025 elections can start circulating nominating petitions on Aug. 20. Candidates can file those petitions from Nov. 12-18.
