Michael Phelan won a second term as mayor of Peoria Heights on Tuesday, April 6, while two new though not unfamiliar faces will occupy seats
at the Village Board table.
Phelan was uncontested and garnered 142 votes. In the race for three openings on the Village Board, attorney Matthew Wigginton led the pack with 113 votes, followed by Dave Marfell with 99 and incumbent Jeff Goett with 96. In the other Heights race on the ballot, Stephanie Turner won reelection to the village clerk position with 134 votes.
Wigginton and Marfell may be new to the Village Board but they should be recognizable names to many Heights residents. Wigginton has served on the Heights Zoning Board of Appeals, and Marfell was the Heights water superintendent for 10 years, leaving that post for work in the private sector at the turn of 2021. They will be succeeding current Village Board members Diane Mariscal and Sherryl Carter, respectively.
“I’m just really excited to continue building on what we’ve started in the Heights over the last four years, from the fiscal stability we’ve achieved with our budget to the economic development success we’ve had,” said Phelan.
“We’ll be adopting a long-term comprehensive plan in the coming months, which we hope will be a springboard for even greater commercial, residential and recreational growth and for improvements in the quality of life that we already enjoy.”
Beyond that, neighborhoods will be getting special emphasis in a Phelan second term, with the Village pursuing grants for new and improved but affordable housing. With village finances in good shape, the Village also hopes to put a capital budget in place, with a sidewalk program to be a major component of that.
The newly elected members will be seated in May.