The Bloomington Election Commission is looking for a new director.
Elections commissioner Kim Kiser said Friday that previous director Tim Mitchell chose to take another job opportunity.
Mitchell held the position for about 15 months. He was chosen after longtime director Paul Shannon retired. Before taking the job, Mitchell was a member of the board overseeing the commission and its director. Kiser replaced Mitchell on that board. The other two commissioners are Denise Williams and Bob Felton. They both have three-year staggered terms. Kiser s term expires next year.
Kiser said the board will meet June 2 to talk about the process to find a new director.
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It appears there won t be a recount in Bloomington s closest city council race.
Illinois State University professor Tom Crumpler leads Realtor Jim Fruin by 19 votes in their Ward 9 race in northeast Bloomington.
The Bloomington Election Commission (BEC) said Thursday that 20 vote-by-mail and other outstanding ballots have been returned in that race. Commission Executive Director Tom Mitchell said another 29 ballots could still be counted if they are sent in and were postmarked by Election Day.
Outstanding ballots will be counted on April 20. That s when the ballot counts will become official.
“I am not expecting very many more that will be postmarked by 4/6/21 based on what we have seen in the past,” Mitchell said.
Fruin Won t Challenge Narrow Bloomington Council Result peoriapublicradio.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from peoriapublicradio.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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UPDATED 11:30 p.m. | Mboka Mwilambwe claimed victory Tuesday night after defeating two less-experienced opponents in the Bloomington mayoral election. He will become the city s first Black mayor.
Mwilambwe campaigned on his experience 10 years on the city council and a pledge to focus on updating the city’s roads and other infrastructure, and providing core services like public safety and recreation. He will succeed outgoing Mayor Tari Renner, who did not seek a third term.
Mwilambwe led with 38.7% of the vote over Mike Straza (36.9%) and Jackie Gunderson (24.1%), with all precincts reporting, according to the Bloomington Election Commission.
Mwilambwe was the only mayoral candidate with experience in elected office. He has represented Ward 3 on the city’s east side for the past decade.
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Four candidates won four open seats on the District 87 school board Tuesday although one of them received far fewer votes than the others.
Fitzgerald Samedy faced criticism for his support of controversial former District 87 candidate Jon Reed. Reed eventually withdrew from the race after his past racist and misogynist social media posts came to light during the campaign. Samedy and Reed were running together and shared campaign signs. Samedy later tried to distance himself from Reed. Samedy once announced plans to quit the race himself but later changed his mind.
Samedy received just 2,656 votes. The other candidates in the race (incumbents Brigette Beasley Gibson, Elizabeth Fox Anvick and Chuck Irwin) received 3,700-4,000, according to the Bloomington Election Commission. That suggests Samedy lost some votes over the controversy. Regardless, he s won a four-year term on the board, with only four candidates in the race.