Candidates for city council in the 4th and 5th Wards spoke Thursday night before the mayoral debate to discuss their agendas.

Dennis Roberts, who was appointed to the City Council last year, is running in the 5th Ward. Roberts said he has enjoyed the experience.

“When I left (the last city council meeting), I was more energized than when I came in,” he said.

Roberts recently led a push to tear down a wall outside the Champaign County Courthouse that many residents had considered dangerous.

His opponent is Ricky Baldwin, who described himself as a “professional activist.” Baldwin’s wife is a professor at the University. Baldwin said he has been staying at home with his twin three-year-old sons since they moved to Urbana in 2001.

He said his experience with organizing activities would be an asset to the council.

In the 4th Ward, Casey Diana, a former University professor, is running against Brandon Bowersox, a University graduate in 2001.

Bowersox said he has the ability to work with students and residents because he has lived in Urbana his whole life and attended the University.

Diana said she loves meeting people in Urbana and that she would be able to work well with others on the council and in the community.

– Nate Sandstrom