Potential City Council Members

The city has posted the list of those interested in taking Don Monty's spot on the city council:

• Ms. Lorie Allen; 1008 West Sycamore Street; Certified Holistic Touch Practitioner and Certified Personal Trainer
• Ms. Judy Cunningham; 509 N. Oakland Avenue; Retired Registered Nurse
• Mr. Thomas Grant; 5370 Springer Ridge Road; President, Grant Consulting Company, President Mulberry Hill Farm, and former Building and Neighborhood Services Manager for the City
• Mr. Navreet Kang; 613 South Terrace Drive; Owner/ Manager local State Farm Insurance Agency
• Mr. George Maroney; 37 Pinewood Drive; Retired Administrator, Memorial Hospital of Carbondale
• Ms. Ruth Corene McDaniel; 516 East Jackson Street; Former three-term City Council Member (until 2013) and Retired Cosmetologist
• Mr. Adrian Miller; 500 Saluki Drive; Undergraduate Student at SIUC (Political Science Major) and President of Undergraduate Student Government for 2013-2014
• Mr. Brent Ritzel; 801 North Springer Street; Graduate Student at SIUC (Masters of Public Administration Program) and Graduate Research Assistant at Morris Library Special Collections Resource Center

Of the above, George Maroney ran for mayor during the last election, while Navreet Kang and Brent Ritzel ran for council seats, with Ritzel barely losing out to current council member Jessica Brandshaw.  Corene McDaniel served on council for about a dozen years, before declining to run again at the end of her last term.

Of the others, Tom Grant was Building and Neighborhood Services Manager for the city for a number of years and currently runs Mulberry Hill Farm.  I am not particularly familiar with Adrian Miller, Judy Cunningham or Lorie Allen.

Of those seeking the seat, Brent Ritzel probably has the "best claim" to it, as he and Kang were the only two to actively seek a seat in the last election and he lost to Branshaw by only a few votes.  However, putting Tom Grant on the council would have two benefits:

1. Having worked for the city for a number of years, he would bring more knowledge of city operations to council than any of the interested parties except Corene McDaniel

2. As the proprietor of Mulberry Hill Farm, he would bring an active business perspective to council, as everyone else on council, with the exception of Lance Jack, is either retired or employed by the university.