Evanston resident Jeff Boarini earlier this week became the first challenger to Mayor Daniel Biss’ reelection campaign when he formed a campaign committee to run for the office.
Boarini opened the committee as a registered Democrat with $4,800. Both he, Biss and any other mayoral candidates who emerge can access the city’s new small-donor matching fund, which will use public funds to match donations up to $150 with a ninefold contribution — e.g., a donation of $100 would be matched by $900 from the city. The fund has a ceiling across all candidates of either one-sixtieth of a percent of the city’s total budget or $68,750, whichever is greater.
In creating his campaign, Boarini also listed two local organizations — the Most Livable City Association and Interfaith Action of Evanston — to receive his leftover funds “in the event of dissolution or termination of the committee.” Residents opposing the commercial use of Ryan Field for public-facing concerts, which City Council ultimately approved last year with Biss as the tie-breaking vote, created Most Livable City to counter Northwestern University’s proposals for the new stadium.
Boarini confirmed his candidacy to the RoundTable but is currently traveling and has not responded to further questions. “Just seeing my skills against the needs of the city, and the processes with which the city works, I think I might have something to contribute,” he said at a workshop for prospective candidates back in May, when he was only beginning to consider running for office.
Candidates for Evanston mayor need at least 534 petition signatures to get on the ballot. The time period for filing those signatures is Oct. 21 through Oct. 28. If three or more candidates enter the race and submit enough signatures to get on the ballot, there will be a mayoral primary election on Feb. 25, 2025.
A candidate can win outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote in the primary. Otherwise, the top two finishers will move on to the general election, scheduled for April 1, 2025.
Boarini is retired with a background in corporate and nonprofit work, having been the director of creative services at McDonald’s for more than 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He’s also served on the boards of two nonprofits focused on supporting people with disabilities, Arts of Life and the Center for Independent Futures. His son uses a wheelchair, and he spoke at city meetings over the summer about accessing the dog beach and listening to the experiences of people with disabilities trying to use the beach.
He’s also written about his support for medical aid in dying after his partner of 45 years died of cancer in 2021.
For additional updates on the status of 2025 City Council elections, see the RoundTable’s latest report.
New candidates for District 65 board
Both the Evanston/Skokie District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 boards each have four seats up for grabs this coming spring. So far, none of the combined eight incumbents have committed to running again, with only District 65’s Donna Wang Su confirming she will not seek reelection.
Christian Sorensen, a district office staffer for State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl (D-57th) and a board member of the Democratic Party of Evanston, has thrown his hat in the ring for District 65. But now, the RoundTable has confirmed two additional challengers joining the race for the local K-8 district.
Brandon Utter, a parent of a kindergartner and third-grader at the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, is running. Utter was a vocal opponent of the current board’s decision to close Bessie Rhodes once the new Foster School opens in August 2026.
In a conversation with the RoundTable on Friday, he said he was motivated to run by what he sees as the existing board’s “fiscal irresponsibility, mismanagement of school closures, ignoring the community and basically just going against the principles that got those folks elected.”
“A lot of them were elected on promises of equity, and I think their lack of knowledge about basic demographic information in the district and then not having good information given to them by the district has led them to one of the most inequitable decisions that they could possibly make in the closure of the Bessie Rhodes School, and the forced hardships on the Bessie Rhodes students, which is a 91% Black and Brown school,” Utter said.
“It seems like a sinking ship right now, but I think I can do better with decision-making.”
Utter and Shevick
Utter is a military veteran, having served a tour of duty in Baghdad in 2005 and 2006. He’s now a mental health specialty pharmacist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and was previously a professor at the University of Colorado, where he also served on the state’s Drug Utilization Review Board for Medicaid.
“I’ve always had to incorporate complex, large amounts of data into immediate decisions, essentially, like you would have to do in any medical field,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ezra Shevick has also entered the District 65 race. Shevick is the parent of a second-grader at Washington Elementary School and a preschooler who will enter kindergarten at Washington next year. His two daughters are the third generation in his family to attend District 65 schools, he said.
He owns a company with his brother called Sleep On Latex, which sells latex mattress toppers and pillows. They employ 50 people at their Niles factory.
“I have had to wear many hats — accounting, operations and HR to name a few. I believe this experience will allow me to help guide the school district through the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in,” he told the RoundTable in an email.
He added, “I believe that it is the board’s job to look at everything with a skeptical eye, ask hard questions, foster a transparent decision-making process, engage with the community and lead the district to a stable financial position while ensuring the best possible outcomes for all students. If elected, these will be the things I will work hard to achieve. While I would love to sit on the sidelines here, the stakes are too high.”
Challenger to Biss emerges, along with 2 District 65 candidates is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.