Urbana alderman decides against running for mayor

URBANA — On second thought, James Quisenberry will not enter the 2025 race for Urbana mayor, leaving DeShawn Williams as the only candidate currently campaigning for the office being vacated by Diane Marlin next year.

“I’m at a place where I could retire in the next couple of years, and I just realized I wasn’t ready to sign up for a new full-time job and a four-year commitment,” Quisenberry told The News-Gazette on Tuesday.

Quisenberry is currently the alderman in Urbana’s Ward 7 and the executive director for student affairs technology at the University of Illinois. He previously served on the Champaign County Board.

In late 2022, he told The News-Gazette that he was interested in running for mayor but said Tuesday he had a change of heart after thinking it through.

“It’s a commitment to the people. When you run for election for an office, it’s a commitment that you intend to serve for the time that the office is held,” Quisenberry said. “Could I honestly say to myself that I was ready to make that shift, leave the work that I’m doing on campus and take on running the city?

“That was the one thing I couldn’t work through.”

Unlike most mayoral offices in the area, Urbana’s is a full-time, salaried job.

While Quisenberry believes he would have been a good candidate, he’s also high on Williams as a potential next mayor.

“We’ve talked a lot about what the next mayor needs to do, and I think he’s got a lot of good qualities,” Quisenberry said. “That makes it a little bit easier to choose not to run when you think there’s a solid candidate interested in pursuing it.”

Quisenberry does, however, intend to run for his city council position again.

“I think there’s still things I can do,” he said.

Williams said Tuesday that when the pair originally learned they might be going head to head, they spoke and agreed to remain respectful of one other.

“There’s mutual respect for the work ... and things that we continue to do within the community,” Williams said.

He was surprised to hear that Quisenberry would not be running but hopes he’ll continue serving on the council.

“He actually will be representing my ward, and I can’t think of a better individual to be the alderman for Ward 7,” Williams said.

Williams said Urbana residents should expect to see him out and about in the community more as next year’s election nears.

“We’re going to really turn things up another notch and just be present in hopes that folks will be willing and able to talk to us, to communicate with us and tell us what they want to see as far as their city is concerned,” Williams said.

“We are always open and wiling to listen in hopes of being able to work together.”