The 2025 Peoria Mayoral forum between incumbent Mayor Rita Ali and at-large city council member John Kelly has been canceled.
In a statement, event partner and organizers WTVP said Kelly is backing out of the event due to an “unspecified conflict.” When contacted by WCBU, Kelly expanded on his reasoning, saying the scheduled recording date next Monday falls on St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m quite willing to debate, but St. Patrick’s Day is a big day for me. I hit a number of places and I felt it was really important for me and my campaign,” said Kelly. “I had asked about, you know, ‘why St. Patrick’s Day? Why?’ And finally, I decided no.”
Kelly says his Irish heritage was the biggest factor in his decision to opt out of the debate.
According to the release from WTVP, Kelly had originally committed to the filming date in December. Kelly says the decision took some time and consideration.
“I thought about it and I thought about it and I said, ‘ahh, no. Not going to do it.’” he said.
Kelly says he would be open to rescheduling the debate. WTVP said in their news release the forum cannot be rescheduled due to “proximity to election day on April 1 and several previously scheduled events at WTVP’s studio.”
Kelly also pointed out this would be the second debate at WTVP. The first debate was during the primary and included mayoral candidate and city council member Chuck Grayeb.
The debate, sponsored by WTVP, WCBU, the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria and the NAACP Peoria Branch, would have been recorded on March 17 and aired on WCBU on March 19 and 20.
The primary debate is still available for viewing.
