Bone Student Center Hosts Town Council Panel

NORMAL – The Normal City Council held a panel Thursday night with 8 candidates running for 3 seats on the council. The event took place in Illinois State University’s Bone Student Center. The candidates include Dave Shields, Alex Campbell, R.C. McBride, Kathleen Lorenz, Pat Turner, Joel Studebaker, Stan Nord, and Karyn Smith.

They were asked to answer questions that related to current issues within the Normal community. The questions included topics such as higher motor tax rates, future development in Normal, affordable housing, and job creation. Each candidate had a minute per question to share their insight and opinions on each issue.

Alex Campbell, if elected will be the youngest person on the city council while also being the president of Illinois State University’s Student Government Association.

Two candidates will be running for reelection: R.C. McBride and Kathleen Lorenz. The latter has been a council member since 2015 and is the executive director of Leadership Illinois, a non-profit women’s professional development organization. McBride has been a council member since 2015 as well, and serves as a general manager at WGLT-FM in Normal.

Reelections will be April 2nd in designated voting areas.

Marcel Francis and Hailey Shreffler contributed to this story.