You've probably seen signs popping up all over the place these last few weeks. Mayor? Village Trustee? School Board? But who are these people anyways, and what do they do? Researching all the candidates for local elections can be a big pain, so I've gathered all the useful information that I can find, right here, complete with links and sources! I've thrown in my own opinion here and there, but you can ignore that if you like. :)
First, the basics:
Voting sites will be open from 6am to 7pm on April 4th. You can also vote early or by mail if you wish. You can find all
the information you need, including where
you should vote, right here: https://www.lakecountyil.gov/351/Voter-Power.
Normally, municipal elections have a turnout of about 5%, so
why don’t we see if we can get a few more people out this year?
Second, a quick list of the candidates:
Libertyville
(* = incumbent)
- Village President – Terry L. Weppler*, Jeffrey A. Harger
- Village Clerk – Sally A. Kowal*
- Village Trustee – James H. (“Jay”) Justice*, Richard A. Moras*, Patrick W. Carey*, Gary L. Franzen
- District 128 Board of Education – Pat Groody*, Ellen Mauer*, Karin Lundstedt*, Kevin Huber, Jeffery Harte; (for the 2-year seat) Kris Hoult, Mackenzie Thurman
- District 70 School Board – Joshua Gordon, Marc F. Grote, Wendy Schilling*, Chris Coughlin, Tom Vickers*, Timothy P. McGrory, Adam Phillips, Kellen Ronald Merchen
- Township Supervisor – Kathleen M. O’Connor*, Robin M. O’Connor
- Township Clerk – Anne Hansen*
- Township Assessor – Peggy A. Freese*
- Township Highway Commissioner – Marty Neal*
- Township Trustee – Lawrence W. Falbe*, Matthew A. Kovatch, Carol A. August, David Nield*, Terry A. White*
Mayor (aka Village
President)
Terry Weppler has
been mayor for 8 years, ever since he beat Jeff
Harger, who had been mayor for 20 years before that.
In a candidate forum on March 6th, Weppler said his primary goals as mayor would be to continue making sure that Libertyville has a thriving downtown and to renovate the train station and make it nicer.
Jeff Harger said that his primary goals would be to work more closely with schools when planning new residential developments. He expressed concern that new residential developments being planned over by Butterfield would be detrimental (since our public schools are already at capacity).
For more info on their backgrounds, see this Daily Herald article.
Personally, just based on the candidate forum video, Weppler’s arguments seemed far more thorough and convincing. Also, considering how much has been added to Libertyville’s downtown in the last eight years, it seems like Weppler has done a good job so far of pursuing his goals. I don’t know enough about the public school/residential construction situation to comment on that.
In a candidate forum on March 6th, Weppler said his primary goals as mayor would be to continue making sure that Libertyville has a thriving downtown and to renovate the train station and make it nicer.
Jeff Harger said that his primary goals would be to work more closely with schools when planning new residential developments. He expressed concern that new residential developments being planned over by Butterfield would be detrimental (since our public schools are already at capacity).
For more info on their backgrounds, see this Daily Herald article.
Personally, just based on the candidate forum video, Weppler’s arguments seemed far more thorough and convincing. Also, considering how much has been added to Libertyville’s downtown in the last eight years, it seems like Weppler has done a good job so far of pursuing his goals. I don’t know enough about the public school/residential construction situation to comment on that.
Village Trustee
There are 4 people running for 3 vacancies on the village board. Three of them are incumbents.
The only one that I have any personal experience with is Trustee Richard Moras, who is a financial advisor and current head of the finance committee. I went to a village board meeting a couple months ago, and I was very impressed by him. He repeatedly went out of his way during the proceedings to explain to the audience what was happening and how these government processes work. He was articulate, approachable, and seemed genuinely interested in making sure everyone understood what was going on: good qualities to have in an elected official, I think.
In a video interview with Trustee Jay Justice, he talked a lot about his 24-year career in the military working in hospitals in East Asia, before retiring from the military and working at Condell for 26 years. He originally ran for trustee because he was concerned about our community hospitals, and because Mr. Weppler asked Justice to run with him 8 years ago. Mr. Justice said that he believes in term limits and intends for this to be his final term as a trustee. Overall, he seemed very well-informed and articulate when asked about specific issues such as the potential development on Butterfield and the sale of Bolander Park.
Trustee Pat Carey is a former policemen who was with the Glenview police department from 1976-1996. Then he was hired as Libertyville’s police chief, where he served until 2010, when he retired. He said he was initially appointed trustee by Mr. Weppler to fill a vacancy in 2016. He spent a while discussing the complexities of the potential development on Butterfield, and he seemed knowledgeable.
Gary Franzen was previously a business education teacher at Libertyville High School for 30 years, until 1994 when he became a financial representative. He served on the District 128 school board for one term, and then ran for the village board in 1998 where he served one term. He really wants to put together a senior volunteer program to give seniors greater opportunity to be involved in the community. He expressed interest in privatizing certain village services, such as plowing, mowing, and tree services. Mr. Franzen also wants to open greater dialog between the village and the businesses on the north side of town, and he expressed concern about vacant buildings on the north side and along north Milwaukee.
There are 4 people running for 3 vacancies on the village board. Three of them are incumbents.
The only one that I have any personal experience with is Trustee Richard Moras, who is a financial advisor and current head of the finance committee. I went to a village board meeting a couple months ago, and I was very impressed by him. He repeatedly went out of his way during the proceedings to explain to the audience what was happening and how these government processes work. He was articulate, approachable, and seemed genuinely interested in making sure everyone understood what was going on: good qualities to have in an elected official, I think.
In a video interview with Trustee Jay Justice, he talked a lot about his 24-year career in the military working in hospitals in East Asia, before retiring from the military and working at Condell for 26 years. He originally ran for trustee because he was concerned about our community hospitals, and because Mr. Weppler asked Justice to run with him 8 years ago. Mr. Justice said that he believes in term limits and intends for this to be his final term as a trustee. Overall, he seemed very well-informed and articulate when asked about specific issues such as the potential development on Butterfield and the sale of Bolander Park.
Trustee Pat Carey is a former policemen who was with the Glenview police department from 1976-1996. Then he was hired as Libertyville’s police chief, where he served until 2010, when he retired. He said he was initially appointed trustee by Mr. Weppler to fill a vacancy in 2016. He spent a while discussing the complexities of the potential development on Butterfield, and he seemed knowledgeable.
Gary Franzen was previously a business education teacher at Libertyville High School for 30 years, until 1994 when he became a financial representative. He served on the District 128 school board for one term, and then ran for the village board in 1998 where he served one term. He really wants to put together a senior volunteer program to give seniors greater opportunity to be involved in the community. He expressed interest in privatizing certain village services, such as plowing, mowing, and tree services. Mr. Franzen also wants to open greater dialog between the village and the businesses on the north side of town, and he expressed concern about vacant buildings on the north side and along north Milwaukee.
Overall, this editorial
from the Daily Herald gives a good summary of the trustees and touches on
current issues in Libertyville. They
endorse Moras, Justice, and Carey for the three available positions.
Township
Supervisor
Kathleen O’Connor has been township supervisor since 2009. With a Master’s in Social Work, she worked in subsidized housing in Waukegan for 12 years and then the special education district of Lake County for 5 years. Her youngest son has autism. She explained that the township supervisor’s job is to provide for the needy in our community, such as running food pantries and providing emergency and financial assistance to families who need it. She also talked about their responsibility for the township’s open spaces and land management. Overall, she came across as very articulate, organized, and knowledgeable.
There was no interview available with Robin O’Connor. She is a current member of the Township Board of Trustees (not to be confused with the Village Trustees). The only other information I could find on her was in this Daily Herald article from when she was running for Township Trustee in 2013. EDIT: I found her personal election website! (though it took some searching) Apparently Robin is running jointly with her friend Carol August, who's running for Township Trustee.
Also, in case you were wondering, the two O’Connor candidates are not related.
Kathleen O’Connor has been township supervisor since 2009. With a Master’s in Social Work, she worked in subsidized housing in Waukegan for 12 years and then the special education district of Lake County for 5 years. Her youngest son has autism. She explained that the township supervisor’s job is to provide for the needy in our community, such as running food pantries and providing emergency and financial assistance to families who need it. She also talked about their responsibility for the township’s open spaces and land management. Overall, she came across as very articulate, organized, and knowledgeable.
There was no interview available with Robin O’Connor. She is a current member of the Township Board of Trustees (not to be confused with the Village Trustees). The only other information I could find on her was in this Daily Herald article from when she was running for Township Trustee in 2013. EDIT: I found her personal election website! (though it took some searching) Apparently Robin is running jointly with her friend Carol August, who's running for Township Trustee.
Also, in case you were wondering, the two O’Connor candidates are not related.
District 128 Board
of Education
There are 7 candidates running for 5 seats in District 128 which governs both Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools. The Daily Herald has candidate profiles on them. Also, this Chicago Tribune article sums up the situation and statements made by the candidates at the March 6th forum.
There are 7 candidates running for 5 seats in District 128 which governs both Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools. The Daily Herald has candidate profiles on them. Also, this Chicago Tribune article sums up the situation and statements made by the candidates at the March 6th forum.
EDIT: I have to say that I personally endorse Mackenzie Thurman for the unexpired two-year term available. His Daily Herald profile is pretty impressive, and I think it's great that someone so young is running for school board.
District 70 School
Board
There are 8 candidates running for 4 seats in District 70 which governs our four elementary schools and Highland Middle School. Candidate profiles can be found here at the Daily Herald. The Daily Herald also provides a good, succinct article endorsing Vickers, Schilling, Gordon, and McGrory. Personally, I’m excited to vote for Gordon because of this: “His priorities include posting video recordings of board meetings for the community, minimizing standardized testing and preparation as much as possible, adding language instruction at an earlier age and expanding STEAM education, an integration of science, tech, engineering, the arts and math.”
There are 8 candidates running for 4 seats in District 70 which governs our four elementary schools and Highland Middle School. Candidate profiles can be found here at the Daily Herald. The Daily Herald also provides a good, succinct article endorsing Vickers, Schilling, Gordon, and McGrory. Personally, I’m excited to vote for Gordon because of this: “His priorities include posting video recordings of board meetings for the community, minimizing standardized testing and preparation as much as possible, adding language instruction at an earlier age and expanding STEAM education, an integration of science, tech, engineering, the arts and math.”
Township Trustee
There is virtually no information on these candidates, so here’s a link to the official trustee’s page which briefly explains what their responsibilities are: http://www.libertyvilletownship.us/trustees
There is virtually no information on these candidates, so here’s a link to the official trustee’s page which briefly explains what their responsibilities are: http://www.libertyvilletownship.us/trustees
- Lawrence (Larry) Falbe is apparently the president of the Lake County Republican Federation; click the link to read his full professional biography.
- I assume that this is the same Matthew A. Kovatch who is running for trustee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewkovatch/
- Here is Carol A. August's campaign website. It doesn't tell you much except that she's interested in managing Open Space and the food pantry.
- Here is the Daily Herald’s candidate profile for David Nield from 2013.
- Here is the Daily Herald’s candidate profile for Terry White from 2013.
Anyways, there you go!
Aside from the township trustees, I feel like I’ve got a decent idea of many candidates’ expertise and views.
Let’s get out and vote!
NOTE: I originally couldn't find anything on Carl A. August, but that was because the first list of village trustee candidates that I found mis-spelled it. The correct name is Carol A. August, and I updated this post to include her correct name and her website. I apologize for the initial misinformation. (3/31/17, 1:30pm)
NOTE: I originally couldn't find anything on Carl A. August, but that was because the first list of village trustee candidates that I found mis-spelled it. The correct name is Carol A. August, and I updated this post to include her correct name and her website. I apologize for the initial misinformation. (3/31/17, 1:30pm)
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