Peoria City Council
At-Large Candidates
April 4, 2023
Mike Vespa
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Mike is an attorney with the Peoria law firm Dorian B. LaSaine and Associates and an assistant Peoria County public defender.
Clara Underwood-Forman
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Clara is the pastor of The Potter's House International in South Peoria.
Benjamin Nicks Jr.
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Benjamin has served as the pastor of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church since 2019. He is a veteran of the United States Navy.
John Kelly
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
John was first elected to his council seat in 2019 after an unsuccessful campaign for the position in 2017. Kelly worked as a financial adviser at Morgan Stanley before retiring.
Demario Boone
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Demario is the director of school safety at Peoria Public Schools District 150. He previously worked as a patrol officer in the Peoria Police Department.
Lawrence Maushard
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Lawrence a writer, and progressive activist previously ran an unsuccessful campaign against Timothy Riggenbach in the 2021 City Council election. He also ran in 2018 for an at-large seat but was removed from the ballot after a successful challenge to his candidacy petitions.
Kiran Velpula
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Kiran is a cancer researcher and assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria who is also an at-large member of the Peoria City Council. Velpula is running for re-election to continue his work on the council, where he has focused on talent development in Peoria and creating a biotech corridor in the city.
Anu Uddavolu
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Anu is a supply chain contract administrator at OSF HealthCare. She has also worked as a pro bono attorney for Prairie State Legal Services, which provides legal aid to low-income Illinoisans.
Bernice Gordon-Young
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Bernice works as a psychotherapist at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. She is also the founder and president of It Takes a Village of Peoria, a nonprofit organization providing clothing, food, and school supplies to needy children.
Zachary Oyler
Peoria City Council At-Large Candidate
Zach is a real estate agent, and former Caterpillar employee have served on the council since 2017.