Incumbent Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) is likely to win the 4th Ward City Council race against write-in challenger Meg Welch, according to unofficial election results from the Cook County Clerk’s office. This would be his second term as 4th Ward councilmember.
As of 10:30 p.m., Nieuwsma holds 1,538 votes out of 1,939 counted votes in Tuesday’s unofficial results with all precincts reporting. Complete results are not immediately available for the race as mail-in ballots postmarked before April 1 still need to be counted.
“I think it’s fairly clear that I am the chosen candidate to represent the 4th Ward for the next term,” Nieuwsma said. “I do want to give credit to Meg Welch, who is my challenger, for throwing her hat in the ring. I have a lot of respect for her.”
Nieuwsma has been a vocal supporter of Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan and environmental ordinances like the Healthy Buildings Ordinance.
He named affordable housing, equitable public health and economic development as some major issues Evanston needs to tackle, according to the Evanston RoundTable. He believes the “first big thing” to tackle moving forward is the Envision Evanston 2045 initiative, the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning code.
“That is a fairly heavy lift, and I’m pleased that I will be able to keep working on this,” Nieuwsma said. “I think that’s going to take up a lot of our time and energy over the next six to eight months.”
Welch wrote in the Evanston RoundTable that she ran for 4th Ward alderman because she believed 4th Ward residents and business owners’ perspectives have not “been taken seriously” by the city.
Welch said the race was not a “slaughter,” pointing to the gap between the total counted votes and the votes for Nieuwsma.
“It appears that (what) my write-in campaign achieved (is) actually outstanding and indicates some significant dissatisfaction with the status quo,” Welch said.
Nieuwsma wrote on his campaign website that he has been “effective at advocating” for 4th Ward residents and hopes to continue his work for another four years.
“We’ve accomplished a lot over the last four years, and there’s a lot we still have to do,” Nieuwsma said. “I’m happy that I get to keep working on that, and I feel honored that the residents of the 4th Ward have chosen to continue having me as their representative.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Email: n.kanieskikoso@dailynorthwestern.com
X: @ninethkk
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