Local activist Lilliana Young announced her campaign to run for a Bloomington City Council At-Large seat in the 2027 municipal elections in a press release Friday. The current at-large representatives, Matt Flaherty, Andy Ruff and Isak Nti Asare, also the council president, have not yet announced if they will run again.
At-large representatives speak for residents across Bloomington and can pass local laws and vote on the city budget, according to the city’s website. Young began her announcement with a clear stance targeting billionaires and corporations.
“The corruption of billionaires and corporations in our politics doesn't stop in Washington D.C.,” Young wrote in the release. “Indeed, the effect can be both felt and seen in all levels of government from D.C. to Indianapolis, and even in our beloved city of Bloomington.”
Young wrote that her leading priorities include “housing affordability, infrastructure, public works and human rights programs.” She emphasized keeping surveillance systems like Flock Safety cameras and AI data centers out of Bloomington, while focusing on being a city council member.
Young currently serves as a volunteer commissioner for the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission, which enforces civil rights, investigates discrimination and educates the public on their rights and responsibilities.
“Since 2022, I've served as an activist and organizer, fighting for the rights, health and dignity of transgender Hoosiers that the state has fought to oppress,” Young wrote.
Previously, Young ran in the Democratic Primary for Indiana House District 61 against Matt Pierce, receiving 33% of the vote to Pierce’s 67%.
During the campaign, Young ran a food drive and donated a portion of her campaign funds to the Bloomington Township Trustee, which is a local government office that provides support services, according to Young’s release.
Young also received public backlash during her campaign after allegedly making comments about a school shooter that got her banned from a Discord server.
According to the release, Young sought out those “who’d violated Bloomington’s non-discrimination ordinance” as a volunteer commissioner, so “everyone of all backgrounds and ways of life in Bloomington can live without fear of harassment and discrimination.”
Young also is a member of the Bloomington Democratic Socialists of America, a local chapter of a socialist organization in the United States, in which she fought to protect affordable housing, feed unhoused residents and keep Bloomington residents politically informed, according to the release.
“I'm not part of the corporate, establishment Democrats that have sat on their hands and allowed things to become so bad,” Young wrote in the release. “I'm a Democratic Socialist, and that means I get on the ground level and keep going until the work is done.”
Young is the second person to announce a bid for city council after Joshua Stockton’s announcement for city council District 6 on Aug. 28. Young cannot formally file a declaration that she is running for office until Jan. 6, 2027, according to the 2027 candidate form.
Residents can vote during the municipal election November 2, 2027, according to the form.
