Tuesday's election will reshape Cairo City Council

CAIRO, Ill. -- After watching four years of constant battling inside city hall, Cairo voters will deliver a verdict on their city council's actions Tuesday.

At least three new members will join the six-member council, which is being reshaped by retirements and the political ambitions of the members. Two members gave up seats to seek the job of mayor but didn't survive the primary. Another, Linda Jackson, stepped away from her ward-based seat to seek the only other post elected citywide, councilman-at-large, to replace Joseph Thurston, who didn't seek re-election.

Jackson came out on top in the Feb. 27 primary and faces longtime Cairo High School coach Bob Conroy.

Two other incumbents, senior council member Elbert "Bo" Purchase and Sandra Tarver, survived the primary to reach Tuesday's election.

Jackson, Purchase and Tarver were part of a faction of council members who fought with outgoing Mayor Paul Farris throughout the past four years. They, along with Councilman Bobby Whitaker, briefly engaged in a boycott of council meetings over what they termed Farris' dictatorial style. They returned to the council chambers after missing one regular meeting, but Farris retaliated by withholding their $600 monthly paychecks.

The past four years have been marked by lawsuits, criminal charges -- Farris survived being charged with official misconduct when the case was dismissed, Purchase will be in court April 25 on similar charges related to a confrontation with Farris and city employees last fall -- and arguments that included crude insults.

Tuesday's matchups are:

• Councilman-at-large: Conroy, 62, retired 11 years ago from Cairo High School against Jackson, 45, who works for First National Bank in Cairo.
• Ward 1: Purchase against Jospeh "Jay" Holder. Purchase is the longest-serving council member, with 20 years in office. Holder is a serviceman with Cairo Public Utilities. Purchase, who didn't attend a candidates' forum last week, declined an interview. At the forum, Holder called for the new council to work as a team and said his priority would be cleaning up empty lots and dilapidated buildings.
• Ward 2: Kathy McAllister, 45, a bus driver for Laidlaw Bus Co., faces Thomas Simpson for an open seat. McAllister could not be reached. Simpson told the forum last week that cleaning up city finances would be a top prority.
• Ward 3: Lorenzo Nelson, 39, a maintenance worker in the Cairo School District, seeks to unseat incumbent Tarver. Charles Koen, a longtime civil rights activist, is running as a write-in candidate. Nelson said his only promise is honest and fair government. Koen is proposing a seven-point plan for city recovery and said, "I am the only one who knows how to save Cairo."
• Ward 4: Thomas Burris Jr. is running against Richie Pitcher, 35, for an open seat. Pitcher called for cleaning up downtown Cairo and repairs to crumbling sewers and streets. Burris could not be reached.
• Ward 5: Tyrone Coleman, a newsperson for WKRO radio, faces Phillip Hodges, 53, owner of Fill-Up Mart Vending. Coleman is running after watching city council meetings for years. Hodges told the Cairo Citizen he wants to "restore honor and civility back to this office."

-- Rudi Keller