In Tuesday’s general election, we’ll be picking five at-large City Council candidates to represent Peoria for the next four years. Since Chuck Grayeb and John Morris are not running for reelection, there are just three incumbents and seven newcomers vying for the five seats. In the primary election, I only endorsed three candidates: Gary Sandberg, George Jacob, and Dan Irving. I’m sticking with those candidates and adding two more: Jim Montelongo and Dan Gillette.

Gary Sandberg has a simple, consistent philosophy: city government exists to provide basic essential services in the most cost effective, efficient manner to keep taxes low. He has proven himself to vote consistently with that philosophy. He should be retained.

George Jacob was surprised when he learned that I endorsed him in the primary. It’s nice to know I’m not too predictable. In addition to what I said in my primary endorsement, there are some other things that make Jacob a good choice. He supports attracting manufacturing jobs to Peoria. Many candidates talk about the creative class and the med-tech jobs we want to attract, and those are certainly important. But we need to be a city that has jobs for everyone, and jobs in all parts of the city — not just the north end or the second district. Having good head-of-household jobs in and near the older neighborhoods (and I would say especially the south end) is as important for stabilization as dealing with crime.

Dan Irving has not let his eighth-place finish in the primary election dampen his optimism or resolve. Rather, he has campaigned even harder. It’s paid off — he picked up endorsements from Congressman LaHood, Mayor Ardis, several council members, and even the Journal Star. I have to admit, some of these endorsements caused me to briefly rethink my own endorsement of him. But based on the priority he puts on core services (fire, police) and his support for older neighborhoods (through the Heart of Peoria Plan and other initiatives), I feel confident he would make a good addition to the council and would work to move Peoria in the right direction.

Dan Gillette is the underdog in this race. He didn’t actually win in the primary, but got into the race when ninth-place finisher Charles Schierer dropped out. Gillette provides an insider’s view to the council. Having worked for the city in the public works department, it should come as no surprise that his campaign slogan is to have a “clean, safe city.” He’s familiar with the city’s budget, which means he won’t have the kind of learning curve your average new councilman has. He will be able to get right to work looking for ways to use taxpayer’s money more efficiently. And he’s clearly an essential services candidate.

I really had a hard time coming up with a fifth endorsement. I’m passionate about supporting “essential services first” candidates because I feel the city has gotten away from its core responsibilities. For their tax dollars, citizens at minimum expect — I’ll go so far as to say “deserve” — adequate fire and police protection and well-maintained infrastructure (streets, sewers, etc.). When a council continues to subsidize parking decks while simultaneously underfunding the fire department — and defends that decision — we have a serious problem.

Jim Montelongo is not what I would consider an essential-services-first candidate. But I’m endorsing him because of his strong stance on crime. It appears that this is the issue about which he’s most concerned. He’s a proponent of the “broken window theory” of police enforcement, which was successful in New York under Rudolf Giuliani. I think there’s something to be said for geographic diversity on the council, so the fact that he lives in the fourth district is a plus. I’m a little nervous about the more progressive parts of his platform (e.g., installing fiber optic lines city-wide), but I believe those ideas will be tempered by the budget realities of GASB-45 and other high-priced obstacles facing the city now.

As for the rest of the candidates, Eric Turner lost any modicum of support from me when he defended the MidTown Plaza TIF and development on WCBU’s “Lunch with the Candidates” series. Ryan Spain is passionate about economic development, which is his job at Heartland Partnership, but he lacks knowledge of and depth on the other planks in his platform. Gloria Cassel-Fitzgerald would make a better school board candidate, since that is where her experience lies. Gale Thetford was the architect of the $6 garbage fee as well as the driving force behind Mid-Town Plaza; no way should she be allowed back on the council. Patti Sterling-Polk‘s platform is entirely too vague. I’m not clear what her priorities would be if elected.

Whoever you decide to vote for, I encourage you all to vote on April 17.