What started as a challenge from a group of college students eventually led a third candidate to join the race for Galesburg mayor in the April 2025 Consolidated Election.
Anthony Law, coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion at Carl Sandburg College, officially filed his nomination petition to run for mayor at 12:22 p.m. Monday at the Galesburg Board of Election Commissioners.
Law joins a three-way race for Galesburg mayor that includes incumbent Peter Schwartzman and former two-time mayor John Pritchard, both of whom filed their petitions on Nov. 12.
Monday was the final day candidates could file nomination petitions for the April 1, 2025, Consolidated Election.
Law hopes to inspire greater voter turnout
Although Law says he has pondered the decision to run for mayor for more than a year, he said it wen’t until last week that he decided he would be a candidate.
“To be honest, my decision simply started with a conversation with a group of about 25 students in my Diversity and Inclusion program at Sandburg,” Law said. “I asked how many people voted in the last election, and nobody raised their hands. I then asked how many planned to vote in the next election, and again, nobody. That bothered me.
“So, I jumped on my soapbox and I started preaching about the importance of voting and getting involved. Finally, one of my students raised her hand and said, “If you’re so passionate about it, why don’t you run?’”
Law said that was the impetus needed to make himself a candidate, with conditions.
“I told them if I do this, they would need to commit to learning more about local government,” Law said. “Not to vote for me — they don’t have to vote for me. But I simply asked them to vote for someone. I asked the to pay attention. What’s going on with the City Council? What’s going on in our community? But I want them to figure out their own questions.”
Law, who has lived in Galesburg since 1990, has not previously ran for any public office. He was appointed and did serve on the Community Center Task Force in late 2023.
“I’ve already been very active in our community and I’m comfortable doing that,” he said. “It’s not like I’m somebody who nobody knows. This will just give me an opportunity to be active in a different role.”
Law promises to avoid negative campaign
Asked how he would campaign in a mayoral race that has an incumbent and a former mayor, Law said he will focus on positivity.
“One thing I’m not going to do in politics is badmouth anybody else,” Law said. “You’ll never hear me badmouth the mayor, or the previous mayor. I’m going to tell you where I stand, and what I can bring. In the past, and I’m not knocking anybody else, but sometimes it’s us against them. We can have different opinions and just agree to see things differently.
“Maybe we have different views of what makes Galesburg great, but every opinion has value. But when you approach it like you’re either with me or against me, you fail, and I think we’ve had too much of that. We need to bring it back together.”
Law lamented the low voter participation in 2021 when the Consolidated Election drew just 21% turnout. In the race for mayor, Schwartzman defeated Pritchard by a margin of 47% (1,801 votes) to 41% (1,546 votes) in 2021. Kristine Crow claimed 12% (483 votes) of the vote as the third candidate in the race.
“The turnout four years ago was pitiful,” he said. “Really, it’s unacceptable. So even if this gives me an opportunity to reach out to people that typically wouldn’t vote, it’s a win.
“And it’s reaching out to those who are often overlooked. We have to start reaching out to those maybe don’t feel valued, or even know how to reach out. We need to be more proactive and inclusive. That’s a goal of mine, and what I think I would bring.”
Mayor’s role is not to take sides
Law also said it’s crucial for Galesburg to portray a positive public image.
“People have told me in the past, they watched City Council meetings as entertainment,” he said. “You always have to be concerned over what message are you sending, what picture are you painting of Galesburg.
“When people reach for Galesburg as a community to come to or build in, are we saying this is a place to be, or are we saying ‘they have nothing going on.’ It’s improved, but we still have a ways to go.”
Law said it’s important for any mayor to understand their role in a council/manager form of government.
“We have a great city manager, and we have great department heads — we need to take advantage of that,” he said. “The mayor is there to bring everyone together and to represent the community when opportunities arise — to be that spokesperson or liaison.
“The mayor’s role is not to take sides.”
