Candidates for Town of Normal mayor and city council will take part an election forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center on the campus of Illinois State University.
The Municipal Elections Forum will feature mayoral candidates Chris Koos, Victor Connor and JeVaughn Martin; and city council candidates Jarrod Rackauskas, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Preston, Gary Ohler, Ron Ulmer and Cheryl Gaines.
The event is free and open to the public. The evening is co-sponsored by Illinois State’s American Democracy Project, Student Government Association, College Democrats and College Republicans, along with the McLean County League of Women Voters and Heartland Community College.
According to Steve Hunt, co-chair of Illinois State’s American Democracy Project, the forum will provide an opportunity for all members of the community to learn about the candidates seeking local office, and prepare them to make informed decisions on election day. Hunt encourages community members, including Illinois State students, faculty and staff, to participate in the forum because “decisions made by the mayor and city council have a profound influence on our daily lives. Many of these decisions are more important to our everyday lives than most national decisions.”
The American Democracy Project is dedicated to educating students on responsible civic and political engagement. Illinois State was selected along with 10 other campuses nationwide as model political engagement institutions by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in 2006 and received the national Program of Excellence Award for Political Engagement in 2011. For more information about Illinois State’s American Democracy Project or School of Communication, please contact Steve Hunt: skhunt2@ilstu.edu, or visit Illinois State’s ADP website or visithttp://americandemocracy.illinoisstate.edu/.
