A current alderman for the City of Jacksonville has withdrawn his candidacy for the upcoming municipal elections. According to City Clerk Skip Bradshaw, Ward 2 Alderman Jeff Lonergan has withdrawn his petition of candidacy to be elected to the seat after his petition was challenged by his challenger Allison Rubin de Celis.
Lonergan, a production director at the Jacksonville Journal Courier newspaper, was appointed to the seat by Mayor Andy Ezard in October 2019. The vacancy opened up on July 22nd, 2019 when long-time alderman Tony Williams resigned after moving to Springfield.
Williams faced off against Ben Cox and de Celis in a primary election for the seat in 2019.
With Lonergan withdrawing from the race, de Celis will now run unopposed in April for the two-year term.