Jennifer Gain

Voters in Belleville will vote April 1 to elect a mayor, city clerk and alderpersons in two of eight wards.

Belleville City Clerk Jennifer “Jenny” Gain will challenge first-term incumbent Mayor Patty Gregory.

Gregory, 72, a retired school teacher who had never held office prior to defeating four-term mayoral incumbent Mark Eckert in 2021, is a longtime community volunteer who helped found the Art on the Square event more than 20 years ago. She served as its executive director until 2021.

Gregory reported just more than $11,000 on hand in her campaign fund as of Thursday, a balance that has not changed since June 2021, after her election as mayor.

Meyer, 49, announced her candidacy for mayor in August. Prior to her election as city clerk in 2017, she served as the director of environmental programs for the St. Clair County Health Department. Meyer, who also has a connection to Art on the Square, having served on its board of directors. has raised more than $28,000 since mid-October.

Patty Gregory

Both mayoral candidates have their political supporters. Among individuals circulating petitions for Gregory are Alderpersons Bryan Whitaker, Dennis Weygandt and Mary Stiehl, city clerk candidate Irma Golliday, and St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern.

Meyer has political support as well. Among her candidacy petition circulators are Alderperson Michelle Schaefer, who is running against Irma Golliday for that open seat, and City Treasurer Sarah Biermann.

Schaefer has been an elementary school teacher for 26 years in Belleville School District 118. Prior to serving on the Belleville City Council, she was on the Belleville Township High School District 201 Board for eight years.

Golliday, who has been executive director of the East St. Louis Park District since 2005, is one of three members of the St. Clair County Board of Review, which oversees tax appeals.

Three people will vie for the Fifth Ward seat being vacated by Schaefer, who served two terms on the City Council. The candidates are Ashley Pollock, an educator and former Belleville Historic Commission member; Michael Hagberg, a computer programmer and former Belleville Township trustee; and Kathleen “Kathy” Kaiser, who previously handled public relations for Mayor Gregory.

One-term incumbent Jamie Eros will face challenger Georgian “Gigi” Cowling in the Second Ward contest. Cowling works for Gregory as an administrative liaison.

Belleville City Treasurer Sarah Biermann will be unopposed in the April 1 election.

Six City Council incumbents are also running for re-election unopposed, including the Third Ward’s Kent Candle and the Fourth Ward’s Johnnie Anthony, both of whom are running for a fourth term. The others are: Alderpersons Bryan Whitaker in the First Ward, Mary Stiehl in the Sixth Ward, Dennis Weygandt in the Seventh Ward and Nora Sullivan in the Eighth Ward.

The new terms of office begin May 1.