Urbana citizens will have the same bipartisan choices for mayor at polling booths on April 9 as they did four years ago: Republican candidate Rex Bradfield and incumbent Democrat Mayor Laurel Prussing.

Prussing, who won the Democratic primary last week, won against Bradfield in 2009 with 53 percent of the vote when Bradfield came out with 32 percent.

But although the ballot will look the same, Bradfield said his campaign strategy this year will be more personal and modest in spending.

He said he will be focused on face-to-face interactions with voters, regardless of their political party. 

“I don’t care about the politics of everything,” Bradfield said. “I want you to elect me because I’m the right guy.” 

While Bradfield said he spent $41,000 out of his pocket four years ago for the campaign, he said he won’t spend any money this year and is looking for four to five significant sponsorships to donate funding.

John Farney, Champaign county auditor, is a friend and supporter of Bradfield and said this campaign will be much different than the 2009 effort.

“It’s not going to be a mass media campaign,” Farney said. “People need to get to know the candidate on a local level. It’s a low turnout election, so your face-to-face contact really makes a difference.” 

After winning the Democratic candidacy on Feb. 26, Prussing said that though she didn’t know which issues Bradfield would address in his campaign, she would continue to stick to her priority issues of city improvements.

“He is a known quantity. So we’ll see,” she said.

Many topics of controversy, such as the Boneyard Creek Beautification Project and funding for the Urbana Landmark Hotel, were issues of concern during the 2009 election and will be again in the Democratic primary, but Bradfield said he won’t focus his campaign on issues he wouldn’t be able to change in office.

“The money has already been spent,” he said. “There isn’t anything I can do about it. I’m pushing forward and I’m not going to waste my time on it.”

Bradfield said his top priority, if elected mayor, will be job creation, in keeping with his slogan from 2009 “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.”

“The most important issue now is high-paying jobs,” he said. “It was important then and now; she’s four years behind the eight ball.”

Bradfield said his first actions would be to put together an ad-hoc committee to bring major companies, such as Apple and Intel, to Lincoln Square.  

He also said bringing in major restaurant chains to southeast Urbana would increase business along Philo Road and benefit the local economy by providing jobs and bringing in more tax revenue.

Some of his other ideas include building a new fire and police station in southeast Urbana to combat the high-crime area and implementing language facilities for immigrants. He also wants to construct a city fairground or sports complex where road construction is currently being done on Lincoln Avenue. 

“That’s a road to nowhere,” he said. “(With more development,) you’ll give people a reason to get out there.”

Polls open April 9 at various locations, some on campus, including the McKinley Foundation, University YMCA, SDRP and ARC. The last day for registration is March 12.

Corinne can be reached at cruff2@

dailyillini.com.