Originally published on April 2, 2021 9:18 am
Candidates competing for three open seats on the Normal Town Council sparred Thursday over how best to handle town finances and infrastructure, future development, and whether divisive politics is tainting town governance.
Pantagraph Media hosted the forum, moderated by Central Illinois Editor Chris Coates. He asked candidates what they viewed as Normal’s recent successes, what policy ideas they’d bring to the table if elected, and how they’d prioritize infrastructure funding, among other questions.
The hour-long debate was livestreamed, due to pandemic restrictions. Eight of the nine candidates took part, including incumbents Chemberly Cummings, Kevin McCarthy and Scott Preston, along with challengers David Paul Blumenshine, Steve Harsh, Brad McMillan, Karl Sila and AJ Zimmerman.