I am Noah Palm, a student worker and aspiring educator running for Peoria At-Large City Council. From early on in my life, I've known what it's like for regular working-class people to struggle. I was raised by a single mother who spent long nights working third shift at Caterpillar before being laid off in 2009 with 17,000 other workers. My father was incarcerated during a large portion of my childhood. Like many others in our community, his path was heavily influenced by a lack of quality education as, due to his dyslexia, he was unable to read until after he was incarcerated. As a young worker, I was directly impacted by the issues related to COVID-19; I was laid off from work, having to find a way to make ends meet while the world was going through a pandemic. From these experiences, I have learned that quality of life is not directly tied to an individual's work ethic or decision making, but to the investment we make in people as a community.

The people of Peoria deserve representation that looks out for the interests of the many, not just the few. For far too long, city leadership has thrown resources at large corporations and developers. As a result, regular Peorians like you and I have been neglected. Peoria taxpayers have lost millions to bad business deals, our public services are underfunded and predicated on low wages for workers, and our racial disparities remain among the worst in the nation. We should have a city council that does more than maintain the status quo. Peoria deserves a city council that wants to transform the community and permanently improve people's lives. As a council member, I will prioritize solving the issues facing everyday working people. My main campaign pillars will be affordability, safety, housing, and education.