Contests for Bloomington and Normal mayors and city councils appear to be set for the April election. Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton will face off against two challengers, Tari Renner and Eric Decossas. | 3 candidates file for Pontiac mayor

In Normal, Mayor Chris Koos will be challenged by Andrew Matthews.

Also, one of the five wards on the Bloomington City Council is contested. Ward 7 Alderman Steven Purcell, 407 W. Emerson St., will see competition from James Keeran, 1513 W. Graham St., and Chuck Irwin, 6 Iverness Drive, for the seat. The remaining four seats for Bloomington City Council appear to be uncontested.

Four candidates are vying for the three at-large seats up for election on the Normal City Council.

Monday was the deadline to file nominating petitions for the April 7 elections. The races are nonpartisan.

In Bloomington, Renner and Decossas will give Stockton something he did not have in his first run for mayor: competition.

Stockton, 61, of 19 Brompton Court, a retired vice president from State Farm Insurance Cos., is seeking his second term. Renner, 49, of 1016 N. Evans St., is a member of the McLean County Board and a political science professor at Illinois Wesleyan University. Decossas, 39, of 4 Downing Circle, is a business analyst for State Farm.

Four Bloomington wards will not see contests.

In Ward 1, Bernard "Bernie" Anderson, 12 Hidden Lake, filed petitions for the seat held by Alderman Allen Gibson. Gibson did not file for re-election.

Ward 3 Alderman Kevin Huette, 2511 Garlington Lane, filed for re-election.

In Ward 5, Jennifer McDade, 206 Fleetwood Drive, filed for the seat held by Alderman Jim Finnegan, who also did not file for re-election.

Alderman Jim Fruin, 3001 Thornwood Lane, also filed to run for re-election for the city's Ward 9 seat. The ward was created two years ago after a special census of the city. A two-year term was created to maintain the staggering of terms between even and odd wards.

Koos, 60, of 1014 S. Fell Ave., owner of Often Running and Vitesse, is seeking his second full term as mayor. Matthews, 31, of 2343 Cascade Court, a lecturer at Illinois State University's School of Communication, has never held an elected office but was a candidate for a seat on the Normal-based Unit 5 school board.

Normal Council members Jason Chambers, Cheryl Gaines and Adam Nielsen are seeking re-election to their seats on the council but will face a challenge from Scott Preston.

Chambers, 1111 W. Hovey Ave., an attorney, is seeking his second full term on the council; Gaines, 8 Payne Place, president and chief executive officer of Collaborative Solutions Institute, a counseling agency, a fifth term; and Nielsen, 1100 Crooked Stick, director of issues management at the McLean County Farm Bureau, a third term.

Preston, of 912 Ironwood Drive, is an Illinois State University student who was active in the university's Trust Me I'm a Voter campaign.