Pekin City Council member Becky Cloyd says she's not backing down from her mayoral campaign in the face of a pair of petition challenges aimed at keeping her name off the ballot.
Cloyd, who is joined in the race for the mayor's office by fellow council member Dave Nutter and former Tazewell County treasurer Mary Burress, said there was a miscommunication with a clerk who signed off on her paperwork.
“I know that this is politically motivated,” Cloyd said of the petition challenge. “The people who signed my petition, they have the right to have me on the ballot even for this one error — and I will fight all the way to court if I need to, to do the right thing on this."
The objections to Cloyd’s nomination were filed by John Burns and Timothy Latronico. The City of Pekin Electoral Board’s hearing on the challenges is set for 3 p.m. Friday.
Cloyd is hoping to succeed outgoing Mayor Mark Luft, who chose not to seek another term and has endorsed Burress.
Since joining the city council in April 2021, Cloyd has clashed with Luft on several occasions, including over the contentious decision to terminate former City Manager Mark Rothert. She said there's several reasons why she wants to be Pekin's next mayor.
“Contempt for the way things have been done for so long, and to make a difference — change things and make our community better as a result,” said Cloyd. “I'm confident we will do that; I already have a lot of people who are interested in that and it's going to be a good thing. This is where change happens, and it's happening right now. I'm very, very excited about it."
Eight candidates have filed to run for the six city council seats, including incumbents John Abel, Rick Hilst and Karen Hohimer. The others seeking office are Jacob Brisbin, Joshua Haflinger, Robert Jaskiewicz, Matthew Johnson and Jim Mangan.
