Although it has been just a month since the last election, a new round of campaigning is set to begin for Urbana political hopefuls. The first day for candidates to file is Dec. 6, said Phyllis Clark, Urbana city clerk. Primary elections for city offices are set for Feb. 22, with the general election taking place April 5.

One race that has already attracted some attention is the Democratic primary for the mayor’s office. Laurel Prussing said she will challenge incumbent Tod Satterthwaite.

Prussing has held several political offices in a long career. She was first elected to office as a member of the Champaign County Board in 1972, after winning the primary election by a single vote. She was then elected Champaign County auditor in 1976, where she held office for 16 years, for eight of which she was the only elected Democrat in the county. She also served as state representative for the 103rd District from 1993 to 1995. She was voted “Best Freshman Legislator” in 1993 by the Independent Voters of Illinois.

Prussing has also suffered political defeats, most recently Democratic primary losses in 2000 to 15th U.S. Congressional District candidate Mike Kelleher and in 2002 for the 103rd District state representative seat to Naomi Jakobsson.

Satterthwaite is seeking his fourth consecutive term as mayor of Urbana. He has been a resident of Urbana since grade school and his family has long been active in politics. His mother, Helen, was a member of the Illinois House.

A recent conflict during Satterthwaite’s term involved Urbana City Council and the redistricting of Urbana’s ward map. Satterthwaite said the map drawn by alderwoman Esther Patt and approved by the city council in May unfairly lumped Republicans into the 6th Ward. Additionally, the 6th Ward did not reflect geographic boundaries and was the ward with the highest growth, he said.

“I’m a Democrat,” he said. “But I believe Democrats should win on the strength of their candidates, not the ability to create the map.”

“(The map) violates one man, one vote,” he added.

Satterthwaite supported a referendum on November’s ballot that would have added two at-large seats to the city council, which he said he thought would make the map more balanced.

The referendum was defeated, with 63 percent of the votes going against the proposal.

Prussing criticized the mayor’s support of the referendum, saying the proposal would have given University students less than equal representation.

“I would never put up a campaign that says students are not full citizens,” she said.

Prussing said the referendum’s defeat encouraged her to run for mayor and that several people had asked her to be a candidate.

She also accused Satterthwaite of marking those who disagree with him political enemies and yelling at them. She said her work as a legislator taught her how to work with other people in government.

“You have to put coalitions together, and that’s what I’ve done,” Prussing said.

Satterthwaite accused Prussing of attempting to bring mudslinging into the campaign.

“I’m going to run on my record … I’m going to run a positive campaign,” he said.

He noted some achievements of his administration, such as the Urbana Landlord-Tenant ordinance – which he said gives tenants additional protection for privacy, maintenance and repairs – and a citywide recycling program for residents of single-family housing and apartments, both of which Champaign does not have.

Both candidates said they plan to highlight economic development in their campaigns. Prussing has a Ph.D. in public finance and said her background in economics would help her work on developing the city. She said she would like to encourage development on Philo Road.

Satterthwaite said the economic development in Urbana is one of the things he is most proud of during his tenure.

He pointed to a new Schnuck’s grocery store, hotels, an auto park and additions to Lincoln Square as achievements in development. Satterthwaite said the new businesses have raised revenue for better city services, parks and schools.

Satterthwaite also said he had balanced the budget while lowering the city tax rate, which he said had dropped from 1.58 percent to 1.31 percent.

Joanne Chester, township assessor, said this does not necessarily mean a decrease in taxes paid because of the increases in property value. However, the city could have kept rates the same and people would have paid even more, she said.

Prussing also said protecting neighborhoods is another focus of her campaign.

“There’s this view that you have to choose between (economic development) and (protecting neighborhoods),” she said. “You have to balance these two things.”

Prussing said she knows the importance of having excellent police and fire coverage for citizens because the Urbana Fire Department saved her own house.

Alderwomen Esther Patt, Ruth Wyman and Danielle Chynoweth support Prussing’s candidacy, as well as Clark, Chester and township supervisor Carol Elliot, Prussing said.

“I’ve always supported (Prussing) whenever she’s run for elected office,” Chester said.

Patt expressed frustrations in her dealings with Satterthwaite and said Prussing had “more experience and a much better temperament.”

“Everything is a fight to him,” she said. “If anyone even questions him, he goes into war mode.”

Satterthwaite said he had not spent time seeking out endorsements.

Both candidates expressed enthusiasm for a chance to debate the issues, though they said no arrangements have been made yet.

During the primary elections, registered voters can choose which party’s primary to vote in, Clark said. However, because Urbana has tended to vote for Democrats recently, Satterthwaite has urged voters to vote in the Democratic primary because there is a good chance the winner will win the general election.

Citizens will vote for city council members, city clerk, township supervisor and township assessor. Registered voters should vote in the same locations as they did in the past election.