Races for the Morris City Council election will see Primary in Febuary 2023.

MORRIS – There will be no contested race in the 1st and 2nd Wards in the upcoming Morris City Council election, but there will be a contested Republican primary for wards three and four in February.

Six candidates have filed to fill the four open seats on Morris City Council, as the last day to file petitions passed, Morris City Clerk Lori, Werden certified the ballot with Grundy County on Thursday.

Republican Alderman Jake Duvick, 1st Ward, and Dean Tambling, 2nd Ward, will run unopposed in the April election and retain their seats, barring any unforeseen outcomes.

Duvick said he ran for reelection because he enjoys what he does and the current administration and council have worked well together to accomplish their goals.

“The current administration has made improvements to make the downtown area a better attraction for tourism and I want to continue to be a part of that growth for people to see all that Morris has to offer,” he said.

Tambling agreed that the current administration and, after running for the first time for a two-year term, he wanted to run for a full term

“This administration has done a good job with downtown development and I am excited for the opportunity to continue to guide Morris into the future,” he said.

In the 3rd ward, Republican incumbent Alderman Alex Clubb will face Republican newcomer Jeff Wachowski.

“We have already gotten a lot of good things done on the east side of Morris, but in my second term, I would like to focus on the parks and the paper mill. I would like to see the paper mill torn down and bring in more parks, really bring up the east side of town,” Clubb said.

Wachowski was unable to be reached for comment.

The 4th Ward will see incumbent Republican Duane Wolfe against newcomer Republican Jim Black.

Black said he choose to run because he “believes in term limits” and Wolfe is currently running for his sixth term. Another concern for him is a lack of transparency.

“The city of Morris needs to increase its transparency. The city of Morris recently spent $144,000 on audio/visual equipment in the city council room and one of the meeting rooms. You would think after spending that much money, the city would live stream city council meetings on the internet for people to watch that cannot make it to the meetings,” he said.

Wolfe said that his experience is one of the many reasons he has chosen to run for reelection.

“I care a lot about this city and I feel my experience on the council has allowed me to keep the taxes low. We do have to stay within the budget. I would like to bring more growth to Morris, not too much,” he said.

Early voting for the Feb. 28, primary election begins at the Grundy County Courthouse on Jan. 19, 2023.