Contested races set for Mattoon school board, city council

MATTOON — The stage has been set for contested races for Mattoon school board, Mattoon City Council and Lake Land College Board of Trustees.

Those contested races were among the outcomes when the week-long candidate filing period for the April 1 election concluded on Monday, with some incumbents opting to not seek re-election.

The Coles County Clerk's Office, which records filings for local school boards, reported that nine candidates filed to run for the four open seats on the seven-member Mattoon school board .

The nine candidates are incumbents John Hedges, Heidi Larson and Jake Uphoff; and challengers Roy Blackburn, Jeff Branson, David Earp, Angela Hampton, Brandon Stewart and Jamie Willis.

Incumbent Erika Weaver holds the fourth seat that will be up for election on April 1. Weaver, who is completing her second four-year term on the board, did not file as a candidate for re-election.

For the city of Mattoon, incumbent Mayor Rick Hall was the only candidate for this position when the filing period concluded on Monday at the Mattoon City Clerk's Office.

Six candidates filed for the four available positions on the Mattoon City Council . Those candidates are incumbents Jim Closson, Dave Cox and David Phipps and challengers Erica Butler, Rolando Monte De Oca and Noah Olson.

Incumbent City Council member Sandra Graven, who is completing her third four-year term, did not file to seek re-election.

For Lake Land, three candidates filed for two available six-year terms on the eight-member board of trustees.

Those three candidates are Charles "Chuck" Deters of Teutopolis, Scott Montgomery of Gays and Nash H. Naam of Effingham.

Lake Land incumbents Kevin Curtis of Mattoon, who is completing a six-year term, and Dave Storm of Effingham, who is completing a second six-year term, opted not to seek re-election.

Incumbent Larry Lilly of Mattoon, who was appointed in March to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mike Sullivan of Mattoon, was the only candidate to file to run for the remaining four years of Sullivan's term.

Regarding the Charleston school board, incumbents Jason Coe, Eva Ritchey and Brandon Wright were the only three candidates to file for the three available positions on this seven-member board.

For the Oakland school board, Belinda B. Clifton, Ashlie Lee and Niki Stark were also the only three candidates to file for the three available positions on this seven-member board.

PHOTOS: Mattoon High School celebrates renovated gym, spotlights athletes

The grand opening celebration Friday evening for Mattoon High School's newly renovated main gym also included a Meet the Green Wave event to spotlight winter sports athletes.

Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.