Belleville has a new mayor. ‘Just call me Jenny,’ she said from her victory party
Belleville City Clerk Jenny Gain Meyer has defeated Mayor Patty Gregory, who became the city’s first female mayor four years ago by successfully challenging a longtime incumbent.
Belleville voters in Tuesday’s consolidated election cast 3,399 ballots (63%) for Meyer, 1,972 (36%) for Gregory and 17 (less than 1%) for write-in candidates, including Ryan Musick, according to unofficial results released by the office of St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook.
That includes all ballots from early voting, all ballots from Election Day voting and a portion of mail-in ballots. Officials have two weeks to count the remainder of mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday.
Meyer, 49, gathered with supporters, including Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), on Tuesday night at Tavern on Main restaurant and bar for an election watch party that quickly turned into a victory celebration.
“I feel fantastic,” Meyer said. “All of our hard work and perseverance and support paid off.”
When Meyer was asked how she liked the title “Mayor Meyer,” she said, “just call me Jenny.”
Gregory, 71, couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday. Just after 9 p.m., Meyer told the BND that the mayor hadn’t called to concede. Meyer will officially take office May 1.
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Other city races
In other Belleville city races, Ward 5 Alderwoman Shelly Schaefer defeated Irma Golliday for city clerk (3,620 to 1,589), according to unofficial results released by the St. Clair County clerk’s office.
Golliday is a St. Clair County Board of Review member who ran as part of a team with Gregory. Meyer and Schaefer did door-to-door canvassing together without creating a formal slate.
Gigi Dowling Urban defeated incumbent Jamie Eros for Ward 2 alderwoman (247 to 206), and Kathy Kaiser won a three-way race for Ward 5 alderperson with 571 votes, compared to 230 votes for Ashley Pollock and 132 for Michael Hagberg. Urban and Kaiser had endorsed Meyer and Schaefer.
City Treasurer Sarah Biermann won reelection with no opposition, as did Ward 1 Alderman Bryan Whitaker, Ward 3 Alderman Kent Randle, Ward 4 Alderman Johnnie Anthony, Ward 6 Alderwoman Mary Stiehl, Ward 7 Alderman Dennis Weygandt and Ward 8 Alderman Nora Sullivan.
In the 2021 mayoral election, Gregory defeated the late former Mayor Mark Eckert, who had served for more than 16 years after being appointed by Kern, elected and reelected three times. Eckert died of cancer in 2023.
People at Meyer’s party on Tuesday night included Eckert’s family. “They were happy for me,” said Meyer, who was close friends with Eckert and served as a department head in his administration.
Also celebrating Tuesday night were Meyer’s parents, Rosemary and Larry Hamann. Rosemany Hamann is listed as treasurer of her campaign committee on the Illinois State Board of Elections website.
“I’m just so happy,” her mother said. “She’s always wanted this, even back in Eckert’s day. She wanted to run then, but it wasn’t her time yet. But it’s her time now. We’re all just so proud.”
Voter turnout rose
In 2021, 4,987 people cast ballots for mayor out of 32,389 registered voters in Belleville (about 15%), said St. Clair County Elections Supervisor Laura Kaemmerer. That included 2,806 for Gregory (56%), 2,145 for Eckert (43%) and 36 (less than 1%) for write-in candidate J.D. Dixon.
In Tuesday’s election, 5,388 people cast ballots for mayor out of 29,075 registered voters (about 19%), not including a portion of mail-in ballots that are still being counted. So that percentage may rise.
This year’s mayoral campaign was about more than city politics. It represented a split between two powerful Democrats in the region. St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern, who formerly served as Belleville mayor, supported Gregory. Hoffman supported Meyer.
Gregory largely ran on her record, touting the city’s purchase and transformation of Lindenwood University’s former Belleville campus into the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus and demolition of the old Executive Inn and 51 other derelict homes and buildings.
Gregory also maintained that her administration was more aggressive on economic development than her predecessor.
Meyer argued that the city needed to do more to revitalize properties before they reached the point of condemnation by working with neighborhood groups, local banks and real-estate companies.
Meyer also suggested a more “personal” approach to policing with officers spending time in neighborhoods to help reduce crime, and she promised to formulate a comprehensive long-term plan for the city.
Gregory is a retired public-school teacher for 34 years who taught special needs and second grade. She also served as founding director of Art on the Square for 20 years before being elected mayor.
Meyer is former director of environmental programs for St. Clair County Health Department and former director of health, housing, building, cemetery operations and animal control for Belleville. She was elected city clerk in 2017 and reelected in 2021.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 10:56 PM.
