Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin has received four applications for the Ward 2 City Council seat left vacant when Council member Julie Laut suddenly resigned on October 28th. Laut was appointed by Marlin to fill the Ward 2 spot after Eric Jakobsson resigned in June, but she stayed on the council less than three months, and only attended meetings during the first six weeks of that term.
The vacancies have left Ward 2 without representation at City Council meetings for a large portion of the year. The City of Urbana released the following information on the Ward 2 appointment process:
The City of Urbana has received four applications from residents seeking to replace Ward 2 City Council member, Julie Laut, who resigned the seat effective October 28, 2020.
The four applicants are:
- Steve Drake, Video Producer, University of Illinois Beckman Institute
- Joseph Edwards, Teaching and Research Assistant, University of Illinois
- Christopher Hansen, Electrical Engineer, Self-Employed
- Erik Sacks, Faculty, University of Illinois
Timeline for appointment:
- Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin interviews applicants.
- Applicants are invited to give a 3-minute public statement at the City Council meeting on December 14, 2020.
- Mayor Marlin expects to bring appointment to a Special Meeting of the Urbana City Council on December 21, 2020 for a vote.
- Upon approval, Ward 2 City Council member will be sworn in directly following and serve the remainder of the current term which ends May 3, 2021.
Legal qualifications for the office established by state statute include:
- Must be eligible to vote in municipal elections.
- Must have resided in Ward 2 for at least one year preceding the appointment.
- Must not owe any delinquent taxes, fees, or fines to the City of Urbana at the time the oath of office is taken.
- Must not have been convicted of a felony in any U.S. Court.
All elected positions in the City of Urbana and Cunningham Township will be up for election in April 2021. These include that of the Mayor, the City Clerk, seven City Council seats, Township Supervisor and Township Assessor.
The Ward 2 appointee would only serve about five months before an elected candidate would take the seat on May 3rd, 2021. Potentially, that could be the same person.
Both Christopher Hansen and Eric Sacks have filed candidate petitions to run for the Ward 2 seat in the 2021 elections and also applied for the currently vacant seat. Chris Evans also filed a candidate petition to run for Ward 2 in 2021, but did not apply for the current vacancy.
Joseph Edwards and Steve Drake applied for the vacant seat but did not file candidate petitions under an established party. However, they could still run as independents if they filed by December 21st, but that would require them to collect 150 signatures, which is not an easy task.