Eight Galesburg City Council aldermanic filings Monday means four wards will have contested races in the city’s 2023 consolidated election.
Monday was the first day candidates could file nominating petitions for the April 4, 2023, consolidated election. The deadline to file petitions is 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19.
Seats in the city’s odd wards — 1, 3, 5, 7 — are up for election in the spring, and all four incumbents filed for re-election Monday. Seats in Wards 2, 4 and 6 will be on the ballot in 2025.
In Ward 1, incumbent Bradley Hix will be challenged by Jamie Carr. In Ward 3, Kevin Wallace will be challenged by Evan Miller. In Ward 5, Jaclyn Smith-Esters will be challenged by Heather Zeigler Acerra. And in Ward 7, Larry Cox will be challenged by Steve Cheesman.
Candidates running for the City Council must be 18 by the election, must have a one-year residency in the city and must have resided in the ward at least one year prior to the election.
School board elections also will be on the 2023 consolidated election ballot, where Galesburg District 205 will have three open seats.
Up for re-election in District 205 are seats held by Tianna Cervantez and Courtney Rodriguez within the district, and Rodney Phelps in remaining townships. So far, Cervantez and Phelps have filed to run in 2023. Other challengers to file petitions this week are Jake Taylor (within the district) and David A. Sharp (remaining townships).
Four of the board’s total seats represent residents of the city of Galesburg, with the remaining three seats representing outlying areas within the district.
