Election filings start for candidates seeking school board, park district seats among others
Brad Mills said it was "standard practice" to file early for election to the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) board.
So it was no surprise that Mills, the SMEAA secretary who represents District 5, was first in line at the Sangamon County election office Monday morning.
"I've always been one to file early," Mills said after completing his paperwork. "This is my fourth term and I just wanted to follow tradition. If I haven't been first, I've been pretty close (to it each time)."
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Filing continues through 5 p.m. on Dec. 19 for candidates in the April 4 consolidated election in Sangamon County.
Among candidates eligible to file are those vying for seats on the District 186 board of education; Springfield Park District board and the Lincoln Land Community College board, in addition to SMEAA.
Candidates for Springfield mayor, treasurer, clerk, and ward seats filed on Nov. 28, as did other candidates for area municipal seats.
Candidates who were in line by 8 a.m. Monday were guaranteed of being at the top of the ballot or being in a lottery for the top slot.
All seven of the school board seats are up for election because of the decennial census.
Five candidates, all incumbents, were in line by 8 a.m.
They included Anthony "Tony" Mares, the president who represents Subdistrict 1; Sarah Blissett of Subdistrict 3; Jeff Tucka of Subdistrict 4; Buffy Lael-Wolf of Subdistrict 5 and Erica Austin of Subdistrict 6.
Blissett, who replaced Scott McFarland on Feb. 16, 2021, and Tucka, who is filling out the term of the late Mike Zimmers, filed for the first time.
Tucka said he submitted 95 signatures, almost twice the 50 required.
Circulating petitions isn't new for Tucka. He said he has passed petitions for his wife, Gretchen, who is a Democrat precinct committeewoman in Woodside Township.
Not knowing whether he would have an opponent in the Apr. 4 race, Tucka said he decided to show up early Monday.
"Conventional wisdom says if you're first on the ballot you get a little bit of an edge," pointed out Tucka, a chemist with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
For Springfield Park District, the president's position, three four-year terms and one two-year term are up for reelection.
President Leslie Sgro refiled for president on Monday. Kris Theilen refiled for a four-year term and Mary Beth Rodgers re-filed for a two-year term.
Rodgers, the felony division chief for the Sangamon County state's attorney's office, was appointed to the board on July 13 after board member Robin Schmidt resigned in May. Schmidt, who had been with the state's attorney, was appointed resident circuit judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
There are at least two board openings.
C.J. Metcalf, who has served two four-year terms, recently announced he wasn't seeking a third term. Lisa Badger is running for city treasurer.
Metcalf, the deputy director of the Illinois Department of Insurance's Division of Innovation and Emerging Issues, said it was "a personal decision" not to run again.
"I've put a pause on public service," Metcalf said, "but it's not sayonara."
Candidates file with the park district secretary at the administrative headquarters in Bunn Park.
On the SMEAA board, seven spots -- three members from Districts 4 and 5 and one member from District 3 --are up for election.
In addition to Mills, Anthony "Tony" Smarjesse and Steve Ettinger filed for reelection Monday.
Smarjesse and Ettinger have been redistricted into District 4. Bill Taft also filed in District 4, so Smarjesse, Ettinger and Taft will have a lottery to determine ballot position.
Currently, Smarjesse represents District 3 and Ettinger represents District 1.
SMEAA governs the Bank of Springfield (BoS) Center.
Mills noted there have been a lot of changes at the center, including a new general manager. Jodi Davis took over for Brian Oaks on Jan. 18. Oaks became senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"We have good management and, yes, I take everything seriously when it comes to the convention center board," Mills said.
All seven district seats for the LLCC board of trustees are up for election.
As of Monday afternoon, five of the incumbents had filed, including board chair Ken Elmore of Waggoner (District 7) and vice chair Gordon Gates of Springfield (District 3). Samantha Raymond of Springfield, who represents District 1, Vicki Davis of Riverton (District 2) and Mark Holaway of Jacksonville (District 6) had also filed.
Raymond is the board's secretary.
Also filing by early Monday afternoon were Bradley Smith and Jeff Miller, Auburn school board; Ryan Murphy, Ball-Chatham school board; Jeremy Bishoff, New Berlin school board; Travis Guess, Pawnee school board; Gregg Humphrey, Keith Donovan and Kyle Nestler, Pleasant Plains school board; David Leach, Riverton school board; Robert Chiles, Amy Reynolds and Christie Magoulias, Rochester school board; Mike Brooks, William Lee III, Stephanie Forgas and John Martincic, Tri-City school board and Lorri Bandy, Williamsville school board.
There are also elections for the regional board of school trustees; several municipal/township library districts; several fire protection districts; school boards without districts and the Curran-Gardner Townships Public Water District.
Sangamon County clerk Don Gray said it was an "active" morning of filing.
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"You can always tell the difference in those who are at the local level," Gray said. "The passion, the participation is at a higher level, including right from the beginning. It was exciting to see so many local-focused candidates who are eager and ready to go right in line at the beginning of filing."
Gray said the "untold secret" about elections is that there's always another one around the corner.
"This is a true reflection of that," he said. "We were preparing for this filing even when we were executing the November general election."
Objections raised
Petition objections were raised with the city clerk's office against two Springfield aldermanic candidates: Calvin Pitts in Ward 5 and Jaleesa Davis in Ward 7.
Hearings for both will be held in city council chambers, Municipal Center West, third floor, at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the clerk's office, Jason Mendonca raised the objection against Pitts. Nicholas Austin was listed as the petitioner against Davis.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Candidates in 2023 Illinois municipal elections can start filing
