Bloomington and Normal will both have contested council races next spring.
The city council seats up for grabs in April 2027 are nonpartisan positions, meaning candidates do not run with a declared party affiliation.
Bloomington City Council
Eight candidates filed to run for Bloomington City Council before the filing period ended Monday, according to the Bloomington Election Commission.
In Ward 2 in southwest Bloomington, incumbent Micheal Mosley and Roman Stephens have filed for the seat. Mosley works in information security at State Farm. Stephens is a member of the McLean County Young Republicans.
In Ward 6 downtown, incumbent Cody Hendricks, a social sciences teacher at Olympia High School in Stanford, faces a challenge from businessman and sculptor Tom Kirk.
In Ward 8 in southeast Bloomington, incumbent Kent Lee, a longtime State Farm employee, has two challengers: Bloomington Transportation Commission member Charles Brim and Unit 5 school board member Mark Adams.
Incumbent John Danenberger was the only candidate to file in Ward 4.
The Bloomington Election Commission will hold a lottery Nov. 4 to determine ballot placement in wards 6 and 8 for candidates who filed at the start of the filing period on Oct. 19 [Brim and Lee in Ward 8].
Normal Town Council
In Normal, four candidates filed for three open at-large seats on the town council.
That includes two-term incumbent Karyn Smith and three challengers: former McLean County Board member Matt Coates [D], McLean County Board member Alex Duffy [D] and Tanner Starr, a union steward who works at Ferrero.
Council members Andy Byars and Kathleen Lorenz both previously announced they would not seek re-election. Byars has served one term. Lorenz has served three.
The town will hold a lottery Nov. 4 for ballot placement for Coates, Duffy and Smith who all filed at the same time Oct. 19.
The consolidated election will be held April 6, 2027.
