NORMAL - A Normal man's decision to join the 11th Congressional District race means that community will have three men running in three parties for the chance to replace U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller.

The latest candidate to announce is Bryan Ballard, who has lived in Normal since 1970. He said he'll compete as a Democrat in the Feb. 5 primary for the chance to provide real-person representation for voters.

"I'm very moderate. In some ways I'm a little more like a Republican, but I'm a Democrat. And to be honest, I don't think either party has been giving voters' representation well," Ballard said Thursday.

The U.S. Navy veteran, retired telephone company cableman and 28-year member of the National Brotherhood of Electric Workers described himself as a labor candidate, he said.

He also says he's a modest man living in a modest community and approaching the role of congressman as one of service.

Ballard says he leans toward fiscal conservatism but is slightly more liberal on some social issues.

Two others in the race from Normal are: Republican Jason King, an analyst programmer; and Jason Wallace, an Illinois State University senior studying politics and government and running in the Green Party.

Ballard isn't the only Democratic possibility for the seat. Bob Gorman of Frankfort also has announced his candidacy.

Weller, a Republican from Morris, is rumored to be planning to retire at the end of the current term amid questions about land deals in Nicaragua.

Ballard said that either way, Weller's decision won't change his campaign tactics.

"I'm running a grassroots campaign. I wasn't running against Weller, I was running on a platform of changing the way certain issues are addressed in Washington," he said.

Topping that list are a desire to start Medicare reform, address the education funding dilemma, provide better services to returning veterans, and address immigration reform in a pragmatic and sensible way, said Ballard.

"I'm from an immigrant family," he said. "My Irish family had a right to immigrate here, so should other families."

He said the problem with Mexicans entering the country illegally has existed for 20 years, and is tied to problems with labor.

"Walls aren't going to fix this," he said, adding he believes the issues of immigration and labor go hand-in-hand.

Ballard and Gorman could soon have company in the Democratic primary.

Names that have circulated include State Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson and Kankakee Community College President Jerry Weber, a former Heartland Community College vice president.