Bloomington City Council candidates gathered on election night

NORMAL – Bloomington City Council candidates gathered with family, friends and supporters as they awaited the results of the municipal election Tuesday night.

After a long campaign, some nights ended in victory, while others were not as lucky. Despite the outcome, the night was made to celebrate the campaign efforts and all of the hard work it took each candidate to make it this far in the race.

The candidates enjoyed good company, food and drinks, took pictures and even shared in a few laughs to pass the time as the votes came in.

Georgene Chissell fell short to Donna Boelen who will represent Ward 2. Although Chissell will not be representing the city directly, she says she still has a lot of work she intends to do to help make this community everything she hopes it can be.

Julie Emig took the lead in the polls over Don “Chip” Frank. The newly appointed alderman for Ward 4 is excited to bring her ideas to the table.

“My first plan will be to continue to learn as much as I can about all of the ordinances and plans that have been passed,” said Emig.

“There’s so many great strategic plans on the table, but what we need to do is enact a vision for moving them forward and to me that’s a big priority.”

Her favorite part about campaigning was getting to know the people that she will be representing.

“It was really fabulous to meet with a lot of the voters in my ward and have conversations with them about what they care about. I think that connection definitely helped to make this possible tonight,” said Emig.

Long time council member Karen Schmidt lost by an estimated 40 votes to progressive candidate Jenn Carrillo. Although this race was a nonpartisan election, some community members are outraged by the change because of Carrillo’s views, while others think the change is good for the community.

Jeff Crabill ran uncontested for Ward 8, meaning four new members will be joining the council. The new members will take office in early May.

Grace Barbic contributed to this story.