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Petition-passing time progresses for candidates running for Naperville City Council in 2021

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Above / Municipal election petitions for City Council candidacy in the 2021 spring Consolidated Election are now available. Petition circulation began Aug. 25. The filing period begins Nov. 16 and ends at 5PM Mon., Nov. 23. The City Clerk’s office is located in the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Street. For all City business, enter through the front door by the fountain. Follow information and safety protocols on signs of the times.

The front entrance of the Naperville Municipal Center is the only way to enter the building at this time. You’ll be greeted by a receptionist. The City Clerk’s Office is toward the right.

Click here to link to updates that follow the weeklong filing period that ends at 5PM Mon., Nov. 23, 2020. Thanks.

UPDATED, Nov. 12, 2020 / Twenty (20) packets now have been picked up for potential candidates. Since Monday, Sunil Markhede has signed out two packets, perhaps for other residents interested in running. 

Naperville residents also on the list are Jason Copeland, Bradford Miller, Allison Longenbaugh, James Haselhorst, Paul Leong, Ian Holzhauer, Benny White, Vasavi Chakka, Kevin Coyne, Melvin Kim, John Krummen, Vincent Ory, Norman M. Sula, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Terry Thomasson, Alison Thompson and Mark V. Urda.

Already candidates are sending bios to the media. The first day of times to turn in packets for City Council begins at 8AM Mon., Nov. 16.

From queries to this website and for sake of clarity, please note that the City of Naperville is a “Council-Manager” form of government. Note that council-manager government is one of the five major types of municipal government found throughout the United States. (Four other types are mayor-council, commission, town meeting, and representative town meeting.)

In a council-manager government, an elected city council (9 members in Naperville) serves as the city’s primary legislative body and appoints a chief executive officer or “city manager” to oversee day-to-day municipal operations, to draft a budget, and to implement and enforce the council’s policy and legislative initiatives.

The City of Naperville mission statement is “To provide services that ensure a high quality of life, sound fiscal management, and a dynamic business environment, while creating an inclusive community that values diversity.”

In Naperville a mayor is elected at-large every four years. The next scheduled mayoral election is 2023. The Mayor runs the meetings. The mayor, just as every City Council member, is a regular voting member of city council. The mayor’s vote carries the same weight as every council member.

Note also that the Naperville Park District and both District 203 and District 204 school boards are separate local governing and taxing bodies. Those local governments also will be seating candidates in the Consolidated Elections in April.

Be prepared to vote where it matters most… locally

In addition to City Council…The Consolidated Election slated to be held on April 6, 2021, also will include candidates Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners and School District 203 and School District 204 Board of Education members as well as the College of DuPage Board of Trustees, Township officials and other locally elected bodies.

Remember. since both school board administration buildings that serve Naperville are located in DuPage County, candidates for school boards file in Wheaton. 

Filing dates for candidates for park board and school boards are slightly different. Yet, the primary election, if needed, and consolidated election days will be the same for all local governing bodies that set policies and manage budgets funded by Naperville taxpayers. Publishers of this website intend to keep voters posted.

Be prepared to vote where it matters most, locally, where you can meet, greet and get to know candidates and elected officials up close, practicing protocols. Thank you.

By Oct. 30, 2020, 17 petition packets have been picked up by people potentially interested in candidacy for City Council. Naperville residents are Jason Copeland, Bradford Miller, Allison Longenbaugh, James Haselhorst, Paul Leong, Ian Holzhauer, Benny White, Vasavi Chakka, Kevin Coyne, Melvin Kim, John Krummen, Vincent Ory, Norman M. Sula, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Terry Thomasson, Alison Thompson and Mark V. Urda. (Please note PN already has heard that some of these packet-picker-uppers have decided not to pursue candidacy. If fewer than 16 turn in packets, no Primary will be held.)

UPDATED POST, Sept. 3, 2020 / As of 9AM Sept. 3, 12 petition packets had been picked up by people potentially interested in candidacy for City Council. Ian Holzhauer and Benny White are now on the list that includes Vasavi Chakka, Kevin Coyne, Melvin Kim, John Krummen, Vincent Ory, Norman M. Sula, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Terry Thomasson, Alison Thompson and Mark V. Urda.

(Note: If more than 16 candidates file for the four available seats by Nov. 23, 2020, a Primary will be held in February 2021. Also, taking out a petition packet does not necessarily mean it will be returned by that packet-picker-upper. Registered voters may sign more than one petition if they live in the City of Naperville.)

Original Post, Aug. 27, 2020 / Since Aug. 17, 2020, petitions for candidacy for the 2021 Naperville Municipal Election have been available in the City Clerk’s Office at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. Petitioners were able to begin circulating petitions on Aug. 25, 2020, in order to collect 187 signatures of Naperville registered voters.

Up for election in 2021 are the four-year terms of four City Council positions. (Note, Naperville City Council is served by nine council positions, one of which is the Mayor, not up for election in 2021.) To qualify as a candidate, you must be a registered voter of the City of Naperville and have resided within the corporate limits of the City for at least one year. Petitions for nomination are filed with the City Clerk’s Office.

Naperville registered voters are encouraged to sign petitions for any candidate when given the opportunity, especially now when many events and meetings suitable for petition signing have been canceled due to COVID-19. Keep in mind that signing a petition does not mean necessarily support of the candidate. Signing simply helps candidates receive enough signatures to get them on the ballot to participate in the election. Note also that Naperville Municipal Elections are nonpartisan.

Individuals who pick up petition packets become public information

By 9:05AM Thurs., Aug. 27, 2020, eleven Council Candidate Packets had been picked up, including one for your PN publisher who habitually picks one up for updated information only. Every packet includes a letter to the candidate; Statement of Candidacy (nonpartisan); copy of Consolidated Primary Petition (Nonpartisan) with lines for 10 voter’s signatures, address and county; as well as an “optional” Loyalty Oath.

Council Candidate Packets were picked up by Vasavi Chakka, Kevin Coyne, Melvin Kim, John Krummen, Vincent Ory, Norman M. Sula, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Terry Thomasson, Alison Thompson and Mark V. Urda.

Time will tell if all ten individuals indeed are hopeful to serve as one of the four seats on City Council. At times individuals pick up packets for other potential candidates, all of whom will need at least 187 signatures. Other times, individuals decide not to run. Most candidates collect additional signatures in the event some individuals who sign turn out not be citizens who reside in the Naperville city limits.

Walk this way to the City Clerk’s office. Be sure to follow local protocols. Wear a mask.

Time will tell if all ten individuals indeed are running for one of the four seats on City Council and if additional hopefuls pick up petition packets. At times individuals pick up packets for other potential candidates, all of whom will need at least 187 signatures. Most candidates collect additional signatures in the event some individuals who sign turn out not be citizens who reside in the Naperville city limits.

Hopefuls must file during business week Nov. 16 thru Nov. 23, 2020

The filing period will take place from 8AM to 5PM Monday, Nov. 16, 2020, through Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, excluding weekend days.

A Consolidated Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, if more than four candidates file for any one office, or if there are more than 16 candidates for Council.

The Consolidated General Election will take place on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. 

For more information regarding obtaining a petition for candidacy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (630) 305-5300. For more information about the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us.

Always visible at the rear entrance to the Naperville Municipal Center near the Sept. 11 Memorial along the Riverwalk, copies of historic documents featured in the Freedom Shrine help tell the story that “freedom isn’t free.” Remember Constitution Day is Sept. 17, the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Editor’s Note / The Consolidated Election slated to be held on April 6, 2021, also will include candidates for City Council, Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners and School District 203 and School District 204 Board of Education members as well as the College of DuPage Board of Trustees.

Remember. since both school board administration buildings that serve Naperville are located in DuPage County, candidates for school boards file in Wheaton. 

Filing dates for candidates for park board and school boards are slightly different. Yet, the primary election, if needed, and consolidated election days will be the same for all local governing bodies that set policies and manage budgets funded by Naperville taxpayers. Publishers of this website intend to keep voters posted.

Be prepared to vote where it matters most, locally, where you can meet, greet and get to know candidates and elected officials up close, practicing protocols. Thank you.

First, however, become an educated voter in the General Election on Tues., Nov. 3, 2020. Check out the local election guide, featuring only candidates running to serve Naperville in Federal, State and County elections. Several types of voting will offered for registered voters: Mail-in Voting, Early Voting, Absentee Voting and Election Day Voting.

This page will be updated as needed during the petition-passing period until Nov. 16, 2020.

—Stephanie Penick for PN

 

 

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

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