Lilliana Young has announced her campaign for Bloomington City Council at large seat in the 2027 election.
Young is currently a member of the Bloomington-Monroe County Human Rights Commission, and was a candidate for the Indiana House, losing to Matt Pierce in this year’s Democratic primary.
The at-large position represents residents across Bloomington, while helping shape local laws and voting on the city’s budget. Young’s top priority for the city is housing and development.
“My main focus is going to be working on housing affordability,” Young said. “It's a huge problem here in Bloomington, as far as I'm aware, it's the worst in the state.”
Specifically, Young said she wants to amend the city's Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO, which she argues places unnecessary restrictions on how land can be developed.
Young wants to build smaller housing units on land not being used, such as one-bedroom or small family units to relieve the “burden” of the unhoused population.
“It would be inexpensive to build and inexpensive to rent out,” Young says. “Somebody could live there very easily.”
Young has also been critical of Flock surveillance cameras in Bloomington, arguing that they create privacy concerns. She brought up cases of police officers using the cameras for personal reasons, even stalking.
“We don't need them. They're not helping in any significant way,” Young said. “In fact, they present opportunities for abuse that we haven't seen before.”
Young also wants the city to work more cautiously with the budget and spending, specifically on infrastructure costs.
She argues that Bloomington is “on the edge of a genuine budget crisis.” Young said state laws have limited the city's ability to raise money through local taxes and that the city has already been denied some federal grants.
“It could be even worse next year,” Young said. “So we have to be really careful with how we're spending money and with the money that we've got, it has to be very strictly prioritized in how it's spent.”
Young cannot formally file her declaration of candidacy until Jan. 6, 2027, according to the 2027 candidate form. The municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 2, 2027.
“I hope people can understand that I am genuinely serious about being part of making a better Bloomington and a better Indiana,” Young says.
