The Peoria City Council welcomed its new members to the horseshoe last night. Four of the five district seats are changing hands. Council members Dan Irving and Barbara Van Auken part ways with the horseshoe after failed re-election bids last month. Councilman Clyde Gulley stepped down from his first-district post, making way for Denise Moore. Moore is the first black female ever elected to Peoria’s city council.
Fourth district Councilman Bill Spears is leaving the post after serving more than twenty years on the council:
“You have to thank the voters that come out and trust you every time. Because you’re spending their money, and you have to remember that, it’s their hard earned money and it’s your decisions that make this community better,” says Spears.
Replacing Spears is former Peoria Councilman Jim Montelongo. Another former councilman, Chuck Grayeb, is replacing Van Auken, and Casey Johnson replaces Irving in the fifth District.