Four newcomers running for the Champaign County Board defeated incumbents and recent appointees in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
The winners include Emily Rodriguez of Champaign, who defeated county board chairman Giraldo Rosales in District 8, on a vote of 1,403 to 283. Rodriguez won 83% of the vote, according to the first unofficial tally from the Champaign County Clerk’s office.
“I think that the outcome of the election tonight is a clear signal from the voters of Champaign County that they clearly want progress,” said Rodriguez. “I think that every vote that was cast in this election, at least in the margins that we saw, was a clear signal that we want to revitalize the local Democratic party from the ground up.”
Rodriguez says her priorities include fighting poverty in Champaign County, and reducing the inmate population in the county jail, as the county board makes plans for closing the deteriorating jail in downtown Urbana, and renovating and expanding the satellite jail on the city’s east side.
Other county board Democratic primary winners were DeShawn Williams over incumbent Charles Young in District 6, Jennifer Straub over recent appointee Cynthia Fears in District 9 and Mary King over recent appointee Connie Dillard-Myers in District 10.
There were no contested primary races for Champaign County Board in the Republican primary.
See the unofficial tally of primary results from the Champaign County Clerk here.