Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin has named five finalists for the 1st Ward aldermanic seat recently vacated by Emmanuel Llamas.
Irvin whittled the list of five down from 11 candidates who applied for the City Council post. Irvin said he will make his recommendation to the Aurora City Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place.
The five candidates are: Steve Banks, a neighborhood group leader; Dan Barreiro, an East Aurora school board member and a retired city executive; Jeffrey Donelson, a senior pastor and Army veteran; Guadalupe Magana, a customer service professional; and Hector Martinez, a construction superintendent and Army National Guard veteran.
The seat officially became vacant Thursday, when Ald. Emmanuel Llamas stepped down as alderman to spend more time caring for his ailing father.
While Llamas said he would step down officially Aug. 1, he had not attended council meetings since making his announcement last month.
Irvin must appoint a new City Council member to serve the remainder of the term. But while Llamas’ term is actually not up until 2027, election law says an appointed alderman must run at the next city election, which is in April 2025.
Llamas, who was elected to a second term in 2023, announced his resignation in July in a live-streamed press conference from City Hall.
He said he had to step down because he has become the primary caregiver for his father, who was diagnosed earlier this year with stage four stomach cancer.
Llamas had been under fire from some residents who said he had been living in a property he bought on the far West Side of town, instead of in the northeast side 1st Ward. Llamas has insisted that while he owns several properties, he was still living in the 1st Ward.
slord@tribpub.com