Hopi Stosberg (D) has won the nomination for the District 3 seat on the Bloomington City Council by 83.5% over opponent Carl “Brett” Heinisch (R). She won with 825 total votes.
Heinisch is the only Republican who ran in this year’s city council races. Bloomington has not had a Republican on the council since 2011.
Stosberg is a newcomer to city politics. Four of the nine council members next year are returning for another term. The remaining five include newcomers to the council and one former member.
"There's always the challenge of transition, and right now, there's a lot of transition that's going to happen in city government," Stosberg said. "We've got a new mayor. We've got a majority new council, and it's all very different."
2023 Contested General Election Results
Stosberg said she has much to learn about legislating but is interested in transportation safety and improving youth services, among other things.
"We're trying to solve some big problems, like the unhoused population, like housing costs, like trying to move Bloomington into a climate-friendly future so that it survives," Stosberg said. "We can't really slow down in order to learn how to work together (with) all of the things that are already happening — but we have to do that at the same time."
Stosberg is a long-time local volunteer. She ran on issues including affordable housing, accessibility to city services, education and childcare.
Stosberg has been involved in the University Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization. She has served as president and vice president for a combined five years and chaired the fall campaign and learning festival.
She won the Democratic primary against incumbent Ron Smith and Conner Wright.
