Aurora to hold primary for 5th Ward seat

It appears Aurora must hold a primary election Feb. 24 to narrow the field for its 5th Ward aldermanic seat from five candidates to four in advance of the April general election.

The city council filing period ended Monday with five candidates submitting nominating petitions to replace 5th Ward Alderman John "Whitey" Peters, who is not seeking re-election. The 5th Ward hopefuls are Deena Bess Sherman, Suely Ann Cabral, Steve Solarz, Carl Franco and Kevin Mathews.

A primary election is triggered when more than four people file for a position.

Besides the 5th Ward, the aldermanic seats for the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8th wards also will be up for grabs in the April general election, along with one of the city's at-large aldermanic posts.

Mayor Tom Weisner's seat is not up next year.

Incumbent Kristina Bohman, who was appointed to her seat, and challenger Fred Collier are expected to square off for the 1st Ward seat.

Incumbent Ted Mesiacos was the sole person to file in the 3rd Ward. Michael B. Saville, the incumbent 6th Ward alderman was the only person to file for his seat.

Incumbent Rick Mervine, former alderman Chris Beykirch and Paul Mandrik will compete in the 8th Ward, which is entirely in DuPage County. Beykirch served as the 8th Ward alderman from 1995 to 2008.

Incumbent Richard C. Irvin, whose seat represents the entire city, is the sole candidate for the city's at-large aldermanic position.