Marseilles council newcomers share their visions

Melissa Small and Michael Scheib will join incumbents Bobby Kaminski and Jim Buckingham on the Marseilles City Council starting Wednesday, May 3.

Buckingham and Kaminski finished with the most votes, according to unofficial results, with Scheib and Small finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the eight-person race for four seats. Small garnered 54 votes more than the next vote getter, which was incumbent Gary Lewey, according to unofficial results.

Mayor Jim Hollenbeck was reelected, after running unopposed.

Scheib, a letter carrier and president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 316, said he’s happy to have won a spot as a commissioner. He said he doesn’t have a plan that’s necessarily project specific. Instead, he wants to remain community focused.

“I want open transparency, to educate the people to the extent possible because I believe that the more informed the electorate, the inherently better the governance,” Scheib said.

I’m very excited now that we’re in a position to get new minds together and see what new ideas we can bring to the table, and make some positive changes.

—  Marseilles commissioner-elect Melissa Small

Small said she’s looking forward to learning the ropes of being on the City Council, and she’s proud the Marseilles residents believed in her enough to vote for her as commissioner.

“I’m very excited now that we’re in a position to get new minds together and see what new ideas we can bring to the table, and make some positive changes,” Small said.

Small said she loves to learn and she looks forward to finding out which section of government she’s going to be overseeing.

Small and Scheib will be sworn in as commissioners on Wednesday, May 3. Results will be certified across the state by April 18, making them official.