Two candidates on April 1 ballot for Rock Falls City Council 2nd Ward seat

ROCK FALLS – With seven seats on the Rock Falls City Council up for election in April, only two incumbent aldermen will go up against an opponent to retain their seat.

In the 2nd Ward, running for a four-year term, Brian Snow – who has held his seat for more than two decades – will go up against former 4th Ward Alderman Marshall Doane.

[ 2025 Election Questionnaire: Marshall Doane, Rock Falls City Council, Ward 2 ]

[ 2025 Election Questionnaire: Brian Snow, Rock Falls City Council, Ward 2 ]

Snow was first elected to his 2nd Ward seat in 2005 and has been reelected four times.

Doane ran for a four-year 4th Ward seat in 2021 against Violet Sobottka. Doane lost the election but was appointed to a two-year term as the second 4th Ward representative alongside Sobottka. He resigned in 2022 after purchasing a home outside 4th Ward boundaries, Doane said in an interview with Shaw Local.

Doane has lived in Rock Falls almost his entire life and works as a logistics coordinator with Riverside Logistics in Sterling. He also owns his own business, Phoenix Wicks Candle Co.

In the 3rd Ward, also running for a four-year term, incumbent Steve Dowd will face off against newcomers Mary McNeill and Austin Zink.

Dowd, a retired Northwestern Steel and Wire worker, was first elected in 2021 by defeating 12-year incumbent Jim Schuneman.

Newcomer Zink is a 25-year-old looking to get more young people involved in the city. He will be graduating from Northern Illinois University in May and works at Anne’s Garden Center in Dixon, Zink said in an interview with Shaw Local.

He has lived in Rock Falls his whole life and is a Rock Falls High School and Sauk Valley Community College graduate.

Candidates running unopposed

Rock Falls Mayor Rod Kleckler is running unopposed for reelection. His time on the council began in 2015, when he was elected to the 3rd Ward seat by defeating 24-year incumbent Dave Hand. Kleckler was reelected to the seat in 2019 after running unopposed.

Also running unopposed is incumbent 1st Ward Alderman Bill Wangelin, running for a four-year seat. 2nd Ward Alderman Vickey Byrd is running for a two-year seat, and incumbent 4th Ward Alderman Violet Sobottka is seeking a four-year seat. Cathy Arduini is running for a two-year 4th Ward term.

Wangelin was first appointed to his 1st Ward seat in January 2019 for a two-year term. He was elected in 2021 to his current four-year term.

Byrd was appointed in January 2024 to the 2nd Ward seat that had been empty since the April 2023 election, when former Alderman Casey Babel did not run for reelection. Byrd is now running for election to serve for two years and complete the unexpired four-year term.

Arduini was appointed to her 4th Ward seat in January 2023 and, like Byrd, is running for a two-year term to complete the unexpired four-year term.

Sobottka, who was first appointed to the 4th Ward seat in May 2017, was elected in 2019. She was reelected in 2021 to her current term.

[ 2025 Election Questionnaire: Violet Sobottka, Rock Falls City Council, 4th Ward ]

As for other elected positions within the city, Kay Abner is running unopposed for reelection as city treasurer, a position she’s held since 2013.

City Clerk Pam Martinez is running unopposed to retain her seat. Martinez was first appointed to the position in October 2021.

Election day is April 1. Early voting began statewide Feb. 20. In Whiteside County, it is held at the Whiteside County Courthouse, 200 E. Knox St. in Morrison.