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SYCAMORE – Monday was the final day for candidates to file paperwork in the April 4, 2023 consolidated election, and seven people, including three incumbents, submitted nominating petitions to run for four seats on the Sycamore City Council.
The four Aldermen with expiring terms are 1st Ward Alderman Josh Huseman, 2nd Ward Alderman Chuck Stowe, 3rd Ward Alderman Nancy Copple and 4th Ward Alderman David Stouffer.
Who’s running in Sycamore’s 1st Ward
Huseman, an incumbent, faces a challenge from Alicia Cosky and Robert Collins for the open 1st Ward seat. Alderman Alan Bauer holds the other 1st Ward seat, and is not up for releection.
Huseman said his first term on Sycamore’s City Council was interesting because half of it was consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I feel like the first four years, I’ve learned a lot and at the same time I probably didn’t get a chance to contribute, fully, in the way I was hoping – you know, kind of derailed a little bit by COVID,” Huseman said.
If elected to a second term, Huseman said he’d like to focus on preserving what makes Sycamore unique.
“When you talk to our residents they say there’s something special, something charming, something that is very hometown feeling about Sycamore,” Huseman said. “And so, I think we need to start with preserving that; and when I think about it, it starts downtown.”
Running against two other candidates, Huseman said he’s excited for the campaign.
“I’m excited. It’s more common that people run unopposed, and so I think having competition is a healthy part of local government and I’m excited about being able to talk with folks and to share my thoughts,” Huseman said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s great that we’ve got people that are raising their hands.”
Cosky, one of the two candidates running against Huseman, said modern politics inspired her to run.
“Our society is so divided and politics have become so unpleasant in many respects that I was finding myself just complaining a lot and being frustrated and upset,” she said. “And I said, ‘OK, you either have to,’ as my parents would have said ‘put up or shut up.’ And so I decided I was going to put up by engaging.”
Collins, the third person seeking the 1st Ward seat, said a vote by the council that allowed a new tow truck company to move into his neighborhood inspired him to run.
“I felt our alderpeople should have stood up for us,” Collins said. “Our neighborhood is not the fanciest neighborhood and we seem to get things like jail expansions in our neighborhood and tow truck companies and don’t get the good stuff to compensate us, and so I felt there needed to be a change.”
Collins, who has never run for office, works as a team lead at 3M. He said he’s running because he wants to “look out for regular people.”
Who’s running in Sycamore’s 3rd Ward
Sycamore’s 3rd Ward has the council’s other contested race. Copple is running to retain her seat against challenger Brett Johansen. Alderman Jeff Fischer holds the other 3rd Ward seat and is not up for reelection.
Johansen campaigned as a Democrat for a spot on the DeKalb County Board in the Nov. 8 election. He unofficially held enough votes to win the seat until the DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder’s Office stated on Nov. 30 that the Illinois State Board of Elections found a tabulation error in the unofficial results. After correct vote totals were posted, Johansen had lost enough votes to give the DeKalb County Board District 4 seat to Republican Laurie Emmer.
Neither Copple nor Johansen responded to requests for comments on their campaigns.
Who’s running unopposed for the Sycamore City Council
Stowe – who was the first to file on Dec. 12 – is the only person running in the 2nd Ward. Except for two years, Stowe said he has run for or served on the council since 1985. Alderman Pete Paulsen holds the other seat in Sycamore’s 2nd ward that is not up for reelection.
The lone candidate running in Sycamore’s 4th Ward is Ben Bumpus, as incumbent Stouffer did not file a petition to run again. Alderman Virginia Sherrod, who spoke at U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood’s campaign event at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, occupies the 4th Ward’s other seat and is not up for reelection.
Bumpus said it was a surprise to find out he was the only person running for the 4th Ward Alderman position.
“I said, ‘Well I guess that makes it a little bit more of a sure deal that I’ll get it.’ So I’m excited, that was definitely good news,” Bumpus said.
Stouffer said a new addition to his family later this winter is the reason he’s not running as an incumbent.
“My family is growing by one more child come February,” Stouffer said. “It’s not goodbye forever, I’m just not running this time around. I’m going to focus on the family for the next few years and hopefully stay involved with the city at some level and then hopefully in the future run again.”