Peru City Council: Moreno leads West for 4th Ward alderman seat

Andy Moreno holds a 303-184 vote lead over Alexandra West for Peru’s 4th Ward alderman seat, according to unofficial vote totals.

Moreno will be a new face on the council if the leads holds and he said he is looking forward to serving the members of his ward and the rest of the city of Peru.

I am honored and humbled to be your newly elected alderman

—  Andy Moreno, Peru City Council candidate

“I am honored and humbled to be your newly elected alderman,” Moreno said. “When I decided to run for alderman, it was because I care about my community and truly wanted to be the voice for the citizens. The time I spent going door to door was extremely valuable and worthwhile for me. I am so thankful to all the residents who invited me into their homes to share with me their concerns.”

Moving forward, Moreno said he wants to continue to grow the city while focusing on infrastructure improvements and try to bring health care back to Peru.

“The 4th Ward is full of wonderful people and I will be focusing so much of what I heard, of which is working towards continued growth of employment opportunities, continued improvement of our infrastructure, our roads and walkways and bringing back a hospital to Peru,” Moreno said.

Moreno said he is grateful for the support of his wife and the endorsement of the Illinois Valley Building Trades and Illinois Valley Federation of Labor AFL-CIO. Moreno also was thankful for the support of his family and friends in the community.

“I am excited to begin to work for you as your newly elected alderman,” Moreno said. “I promise to maintain an open mind and listen to the neighbors’ concerns so I can work for a credible and reliable government.”

Other Peru City Council races include incumbent Jeff Ballard, who holds a lead over challengers Crystal Loughran and Heidi Heuser with a vote total of 215 to Heuser’s 87 and Loughran’s 63.

Incumbent Tom Payton holds a narrow lead over challenger Andy Arnold by a vote total of 298 to 283. Challenger Rick O’Sadnick leads incumbent Dave Waldorf by a vote total of 234 to 200. O’Sadnick would add another new face to Peru’s City Council, if the vote totals hold.

Results won’t be certified across the state until two weeks after Tuesday. Some mail-in ballots also will likely be counted after Tuesday and will count as long as they’re postmarked by April 4. In many local races, results can be decided by a handful of votes, so it’s important for residents to remember that Tuesday’s polling numbers might not show the final picture yet, officials said.