May 3, 2021
Galesburg Mayor-elect Peter Schwartzman says he intends to appoint Jaclyn Smith Esters as his replacement on the City Council.
Schwartzman says he’s recommending Smith-Esters for the last two years of his term as Ward 5 Councilmember in a letter addressed to the City Council included in Monday’s meeting packet.
Smith-Esters was the first candidate to announce a run in the Galesburg 2021 Mayoral race but dropped out before Election Day.
She was going into Election Day as a write-in candidate, but then dropped out and endorsed Schwartzman. Smith-Esters explained to WGIL at the time, she feared her candidacy would pull votes from Schwartzman, and cause John Pritchard to be re-elected.
TSPR: What will your top three priorities be as mayor?
Schwartzman: Transparency is critical. We cannot have a government that is for the people, by the people, if they don’t know what’s happening. That means making all documents available to the community in every way possible. It means putting information in a form that people can understand.
I think also we need things for youth to do, particularly coming out of COVID. We need to promote our youth programs this year as much as possible. If that includes raising money so that some of our disadvantaged youth can participate, we need to do that. We cannot let the youth roam the streets. I’m not saying playing games. I’m talking about mentorship, opportunities to engage college students, and those kinds of activities.
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