New Evanston City Council in new chambers
The Evanston City Council met for the first time in its new chambers in the new Evanston Civic Center at 909 Davis Street on April 14. The newly elected Council was sworn in two weeks later. Following the consolidated municipal elections of April 1, Council includes three newcomers along with six returning members.
Campaigns for Mayor and eight of nine Council seats were hotly contested. Yard signs spread throughout the city, and personal attacks characterized some races and led to retractions. The political temperature was high, sparked in part by opposition among some voters in North Evanston to the agreement with Northwestern negotiated by Mayor Biss allowing concerts and other events in the new football stadium. Another hot-button issue raising political tempers was Envision Evanston 2045, launched in early 2024 to develop a new Comprehensive Plan to help guide city growth and a new Zoning Code.
Mayor Daniel Biss faced strong opposition on both these issues, but emerged with over 60% of the vote, defeating an active challenger, Jeff Boarini. Only one incumbent Council Member, Devon Reid, was defeated; his Eighth Ward position will be taken over by the former chair of the Land Use Commission, Matt Rogers. Races were strongly contested in the First and Sixth Wards, and incumbents Clare Kelly and Tom Suffredin each won close races. In the Third and Seventh Wards, retirements by Council Members Melissa Wynne and Eleanor Revelle provided opportunities for vigorous campaigns, with victories by newcomers Shawn Iles and Paricelle Davis. Incumbents Krissie Harris and Bobby Burns emerged as winners after being actively challenged in the Second and Fifth Wards. In the Fourth Ward, Jonathan Nieuwsma won easily, and Juan Geracaris in the Ninth Ward ran unopposed.
City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza won easy re-election against a write-in opponent.
New members for School District 65
Besides these City contests, extensive attention was paid to the four open positions on the seven-person District 65 School Board. Evanston residents have been faced with both fiscal and academic concerns in the District, along with the related complexities of school closures and boundary changes. They had to choose among more than a dozen candidates, none of whom had served on the Board before. Patricia S. Anderson, Maria Opdycke, Nichole Pinkard, and Andrew Wymer emerged as winners.
In contrast, only four candidates ran for the four open Board seats in Evanston Township High School District 202. Three incumbents— Mirah Anti, Pat Maunsell, and Pat Savage-Williams— were elected to continue in their positions, and John Martin joined them as a new Board member.
LWVE activities
LWVE was active throughout the election process, hosting a day-long candidate forum for Evanston City officials and Council Member candidates and working with the
Evanston RoundTable to publicize information on School Board candidates. See this issue’s
Voter Services article for a deeper look at LWVE election season activities in both Evanston and Skokie.
In addition, the Local Government Observer Group developed a set of suggestions to send to the Mayor and City Manager for on-boarding incoming Council Members, particularly those who are newly elected. Our
2023 interviews of Council Members identified issues related to training, collegiality, and time allocation that could be helpful in orienting new members and sensitizing returning members to best practices.
Elections are a central focus for the League of Women Voters, in Evanston and elsewhere. Voter registration, voter information, and engagement are part of our mission. This election season in Evanston was a lively example of how the process can work and how the League can encourage and educate voters to become involved in the critical issues and policy decisions. Elections matter– at all levels of government!