McLean County Board District 5 is generally bounded by the Normal City limits on the north, Airport Rd. on the east, College Ave. on the south and Beech St. on the west.
The two seats on the board from the district are currently split among the two older parties. Elizabeth Johnston is a Democrat and McLean County Board Chair John McIntyre is a Republican. Therefore the district can be described as purple. It is also a swing district. As a result this race is key when considering which party may be the majority party on the county board after this election cycle.
Elizabeth Johnston was part of a group of young female county board members that were elected to the McLean County Board as part of a blue wave in 2018. Sharon Chung, currently a candidate for the state house in the 91st district, andĀ Shayna Watchinsky were also elected to to the board that year.
The threesome permanently changed the makeup of the board. Since then the board has looked less like a retired gentlemen’s club made up of older white men and much more like a group of diverse individuals that reflect more accurately the makeup of McLean County. The group bought transparency to the board reflected in the meetings now being held in the evenings, as opposed to afternoons, and broadcast on social media.
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The 2020 censusĀ resulted in redrawn McLean County Board districts. In McLean County that requires all county board members to run for reelection this year. That also means two seats are open in each district. Parties may each place two candidates names on the ballot per district for the general election in November.
In District 5 both Johnston and McIntyre are running for reelection. Hannah Blumenshine is also running as a second Republican. She and McIntyre are running together as a team in an attempt to turn the district back to red.
Elizabeth Johnston has “worked with members of” the three major parties in McLean County “on efforts ranging from voter-driven redistricting, protection of first amendment rights to gather freely on county property, easier access to the governing process, and increased protections for rural residents during wind and solar farm construction.”
During Covid-19 Johnston “had the unique experience among county board members to be on the front line, counseling patients through their direct experiences and struggles with Covid.” She is “aware of the devastation Covid wrought across the community.” Johnston says the experience rivals, “memories of working with patients in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina.” Johnston consequently voted on the board “for measures that balanced recommended health guidelines for citizens and supported the sustainability of our local business.”
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In April Johnston asked the board to table adoption of the updated mental health action plan so the community could have time to review the final draft. She commended McLean County government for initiating a response to the mental health crisis. Johnston reported community members wanted the next mental health action plan to contain more metrics and smart goals to address community shortfalls.
If reelected Johnston looks to focus on addressing the local need for more housing and employees. She says, “The housing need directly impacts our employee pool as the soaring price of housing, due to low supply, is driving many potential employees out of the region.” She promises to “work with municipalities, developers and community organizations to facilitate housing construction for our community to stabilize the housing market.”
John McIntyre was last reelected to the county board in 2020.
In March of 2021 McIntyre led county efforts to set up Covid-19 vaccination clinics outside of Bloomington-Normal as the county expanded its vaccination efforts.
Also in March of 21 McIntyre was a presenter when the county discussed its budget with the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. McIntyre reported conservative spending plans helped the county successfully manage its budget through the first year of the pandemic. He noted the McLean County Nursing Home made it through significant financial challenges that included the state falling behind in making payments for Medicaid patients.
McIntyre issued a declaration of local disaster following June 2021 storms that flooded several areas in the county. The declaration was the first step in the process of seeking emergency state and/or federal emergency declaration funds. The Law and Justice Center and McLean County Animal Control experienced flooding.
Hannah Blumenshine received a rough welcome on her first entrance into the political ring when in April five Democrats challenged the petitions of five Republican candidates for county board including Blumenshine and McIntyre. The Democrats challenged the petitions because the pages were not numbered even though two Democrats had made the same mistake
The Republicans won an appeal with the McLean County Elections Board. As a result the Democrats filed an appeal in the 11th District Circuit Court.
In May, 11th District Circuit Judge Jonathan Wright threw the Republican candidates off of the primary ballot for failing to strictly adhere to requirements for filing petitions to run for office.
After the judges decision four of the five Republicans ran as write in candidates in the primary and successfully got on the general election ballot. The four included both Blumenshine and McIntyre.