Elections for Champaign City Council and other citywide positions will be held throughout Champaign Tuesday.

Voting booths will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout Champaign County. Voters can find their polling place online at www.champaigncountyclerk.com.

Two contested City Council seats headline the Champaign elections, between J.W. Pirtle and Gina Jackson in District One, and Vic McIntosh and Matt Varble in District Three.

District One

The race in District One, between incumbent J.W. Pirtle and Gina Jackson, has focused as much on character as on issues. Both candidates are longtime residents of District One, which includes part of the northwest section of campus, and have said they agree on most debatable issues.

When the candidates met in the first candidate forum last Monday, Jackson emphasized her commitment to the city of Champaign and her desire to improve communication with constituents, while Pirtle focused on his record of improvements in the city.

However, in the second forum, which Pirtle did not attend, Jackson attacked the incumbent councilman more aggressively.

“The Champaign City Council’s members have been there for a long time, and it’s very partisan,” Jackson said. “It’s not necessarily a good old boy’s network, but … (it’s) time for some new blood and some energy on the council.”

Jackson also voiced her support for a citizens’ review board to monitor police activity, but said the current council could not be trusted to choose appropriate representation on the board.

Pirtle’s seat is in danger not just from Jackson but also from a manslaughter charge related to the death of a tenant by carbon monoxide poisoning in a house managed by Pirtle. If convicted, Pirtle could face removal from the Council.

Pirtle has not commented on the case, instead focusing on his achievements and record on the council.

“I’ve worked with four different mayors and many different city councils,” Pirtle said. “My experience over my opponent’s experience, that gives me the edge up and the right to be your next council member.”

District Three

The race between incumbent Vic McIntosh and challenger Matt Varble for the City Council seat in District Three has been heated from the beginning.

Though McIntosh won the March primary, in which both men ran as write-in candidates, Varble has spent the subsequent weeks attacking McIntosh, calling him a politician that “represents the past” and accusing the City Council of having a “country-club” atmosphere.

In the first forum, McIntosh answered back, shrugging off the “politician” label.

“I’m not a politician; I speak the plain truth,” McIntosh said. “Most of my role on the council is as a listener. I don’t come in with pre-conceived issues – I listen to all sides.”

The two differ on several issues. Varble supports instituting smoke-free laws in parks and restaurants, proposals that McIntosh opposes. McIntosh has also favored giving Tasers to the police force, while Varble does not.

McIntosh said his goals if reelected were to improve parking downtown, move forward on the new public library and keep a strong commitment to the University.

Varble has spoken several times in favor of obtaining a Federal Empowerment Zone designation for Champaign, which would give the city federal funding for redevelopment. McIntosh said city staff told him Champaign was too small for the designation. Springfield, though, had Federal Empowerment Zone designation despite being having only 30,000 more people than Champaign, Varble said.

Varble, an equal-opportunity manager in the private sector, said he wanted to improve relationships between government and minorities and that he was in favor of a citizens police review board in Champaign. He attacked the current council’s record on human rights issues and said they had taken power away from the Human Relations Commission.

After the first forum, McIntosh defended himself and the current council.

“The most important thing a council member does is meet with residents,” McIntosh said. “The only one that seems to have a problem with the way things are is (Varble).”