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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Ready for update? Candidates for 2021 consolidated elections are off and running

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Above / When the gate went up over the counter at the City Clerk’s office at 8AM, Mon., Nov. 16, six potential candidates for Naperville City Council were waiting in line to file petitions, hopeful to serve one of the four seats up for election on April 6, 2021. The filing period ended at 5PM Mon., Nov. 23. 

Update, Jan. 13, 2021 / PN’s Election Guide, first featuring profiles of Naperville City Council candidates, was launched Jan. 12, 2021. Other candidate profiles for park district and boards of education will be added in February.

The City Clerk’s office is located in the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Street. Follow information and safety protocols on signs of the times. Beginning Fri., Nov. 20, the Municipal Center will be closed to the public.

Updated, Dec. 9, 2020 / Results of Lottery for City Council Ballot Order for 11 candidates: Paul Leong, John Krummen, Vasavi Chakka, James Haselhorst, Ian Holzhauer, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Allison Longenbaugh, Vincent Ory, Lucy Chang Evans, Mark Urda and Benny White.

(Note: Candidate websites (not social media sites) are linked upon request.)

Updated 5:07PM, Nov. 23, 2020 / During the final hour to file to run for City Council, Benny White turned in his petitions at 4:05PM and Mark V. Urda turned in his packet at 4:18.

According to City Clerk Pam Donahue, the names of all candidates who were waiting in line at or before 8AM Nov. 16 will be placed into a lottery to determine who will appear first on the ballot. The names of the two candidates who submitted petitions between 4 and 5PM Monday, Nov. 23, will be entered into a separate lottery to determine who will appear last on the ballot. Both lotteries will take place at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 1. outdoors on the east side of the Municipal Center, near Naperville Jaycees Park.

Any petitions submitted after 8AM Nov. 16 and before 4PM Nov. 23 will appear in the order in which they were received.

Updated, Nov. 23, 2020 / On Fri., Nov. 20, Lucy Chang Evans filed her petitions for City Council. Candidate filing ends today at 5PM Mon., Nov. 23, 2020. Don’t be a second late.

In order of filing, nine City Council candidates are John Krummen, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Ian Holzhauer, Vasavi Chakka, Paul Leong, James Haselhorst, Allison Longenbaugh, Vincent Ory and now Evans.

Updated, Nov. 19, 2020 / Message from Pam Gallahue, PhD, Director, City Clerk’s Office, located in the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Street.

City Council candidates who intend to turn in a petition packet have been notified that the Municipal Center and all City facilities will be closed to the public beginning Fri., Nov. 20. Although the buildings will be closed, candidates have been advised how to submit paperwork from 8AM to 5PM on both Fri., Nov. 20 and Mon., Nov. 23.

At this time, the date of the ballot placement lottery is Dec. 1. Time and location have yet to be determined. Candidates will be notified once the details have been finalized.

Eight City Council candidates filed before 10:30AM Nov., 19

Also, according to the City Clerks office, early on Nov. 19, candidate for Naperville City Council Vincent Ory filed his petitions. Now eight candidates are vying for four City Council seats.

In order of filing, City Council candidates are John Krummen, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Ian Holzhauer, Vasavi Chakka, Paul Leong, James Haselhorst, Allison Longenbaugh and Vincent Ory.

Note that PN will link candidate websites as received/requested by the candidates.

Updated, Nov. 18, 2020 / The next City Council workshop is Mon., Nov. 23, and it’s titled “Budget Workshop III.” The next City Council meeting is Tues., Dec.  1. At that time, the draft Land Use Master Plan also will be reviewed.

Calling all potential City Council candidates & interested residents!

City Council met at 7PM, Tues., Nov. 17. Click here for agenda.

City Council meetings are produced via Zoom. To watch or listen to the 3-hour-and-11-minutes of the Nov. 17, 2020, City Council meeting as it happened, now saved in the City’s archive, click here for the link.

PN admits to having a bad case of Zoom fatigue. Even so, we aim to pay attention to City Council meetings, especially now that the municipal election campaign has begun. We hope eligible voting residents will watch, too. Though the holiday season may create distractions from knowledge of City business and budgets proposed, be mindful that much is up for approval, including a citywide mask mandate, in December 2020.

Meanwhile be smart and follow safety protocols.

Find a calendar of upcoming public meetings at naperville.legistar.com.

Updated, Nov. 17, 2020 / After this story was posted, hopeful Allison Longenbaugh filed her petition packet and resident Gary Smith signed out a petition packet for signatures, according to the City Clerk’s office.

Originally Posted, Nov. 16, 2020 / Early on Nov. 16, the first six candidates who aim to fill four four-year seats on the Naperville City Council filed their petition packets.

First in line was John Krummen, followed by Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Ian Holzhauer, Vasavi Chakka, Paul Leong and James Haselhorst.

To date, twenty petition packets have been picked up for potential candidates. Fourteen additional Naperville residents on the list are Lucy Evans, Sunil Markhede (twice), Jason Copeland, Bradford Miller, Allison Longenbaugh, Benny White, Kevin Coyne, Melvin Kim, Vincent Ory, Norman M. Sula, Terry Thomasson, Alison Thompson and Mark V. Urda.

(Please note PN already has learned that several of these packet-picker-uppers have decided not to pursue candidacy. And some of the packets were picked up for candidates not on the list. If fewer than 16 candidates turn in packets, no Primary will be held.)

Already candidates are sending bios to the media. 

At the end of the filing period, 5PM Mon., Nov. 23, links to candidates’ official websites (not social media sites) from this website will help provide eligible voters with information.

City of Naperville Mission: 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 response to queries to this website and for sake of clarity, be aware 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, including the mayor) 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 Naperville 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.

Consolidated Election is April 6, 2021

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 at the DuPage County Administration Building in Wheaton. Candidate petitions for school board members are not distributed via local school districts.

Central Park, located at 104 E. Benton, is home to the Naperville Community Concert Center, summer Naperville Municipal Bend concerts, mature trees, historic landmarks, a children’s playscape, the Century Walk “Great Concerto” mural and the Century Walk “Laughing Lincoln” sculpture. What else distinguishes Central Park from other parks in the Naperville Park District?

Packets ready for Naperville Park District Commissioner

Naperville Park District Mission: We provide recreation and park experiences that promote healthy lives, healthy minds and a healthy community.

Update, Dec. 21, 2020 / The following eight hopefuls filed petitions to run for four four-year seats on the Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners:Lee Kaseska,Nag Jaiswal, Mary Gibson, Leslie Ruffing, Rhonda Ansier, Alison Thompson, Nathan Wilson and Mike King.

Note that PN will link candidate websites (not social media sites) as received/requested by the candidates.

Since Sept. 18, petition packets for the 2021 Naperville Park District Board of Park Commissioners election have been available for pickup from 9AM-4PM, Monday through Friday at the Park District Administration Building at 320 W. Jackson Ave. at the desk of Bridget Tuft, Executive Administrative Assistant/Local Election Official.

Update, Dec. 9, 2020 / To date, 17 individuals have picked up petition packets with information about running to serve as commissioner on the seven-member Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners. The current list includes Rhonda Ansier, Bobby Carlsen, Ronald Cooper, Leslie Duffing, Bill Eagan (Running for 203 School Board instead), Mary Gibson, Zak Kates, Lee Kaseska, Mike King, Srirajasekhan “Bobby” Koritala, Michael Prueter, Mike Reilly, Alison Thompson, Amir Haghighat, Dilip Kikla, Nag Jaiswal and Nathan Wilson. 

The number of candidates picking up packets is indeed a change from two years ago when three seats were open and only three candidates ran to fill them.

Four positions will be up for election on April 6, 2021; newly elected commissioners will serve four-year terms. The filing period runs December 14 to 21, 2020.

Individuals who wish to run for a seat on the board must be at least 18 years of age and a Naperville Park District resident for at least one year prior to the election.

Interested in serving as a school board member?

To qualify for school board membership, an individual must be, as of the date of election on April 6, 2021, a U.S. citizen; resident of Illinois and resident of the school district for at least one year preceding election; at least 18 years of age; a registered voter; and not a school trustee.

According to the State of Illinois Local Election Official’s Handbook for the Consolidated Elections issued by the State Board of Elections, “candidates for the office of: (1) regional school trustee file with the county clerk if single county, or with the State Board of Elections if multi-county and (2) township school trustee (Cook County only) file with the township school treasurer (105 ILCS 5/5-4, 6-10). PA 98-115 effective July 29, 2013; candidates for school director and members of the board of education file with the county clerk or the county board of election commissioners, as the case may be, of the county in which the principal office of the school district is located (105 ILCS 5/9-10).”

In other words, a 2013 state law change requires school board candidates to pick up and file their nominating petitions with the county clerk at the DuPage County Election Commission since the principal offices of both School Districts 203 and 204 are located in DuPage County. (Prior to 2014, petition packets were available for pick up and filing at local school district administration offices.)

Naperville Community School District 203 Board of Education

Mission Statement: Our mission is to educate students to be self-directed learners, collaborative workers, complex thinkers, quality producers, and community contributors.

Update, Dec. 21, 2020 / Nine hopefuls are reportedly running to serve four seats on the School District 203 Board of Education. They are Donna E. Wandke, Kristin W. Fitzgerald, Amanda McMillen, Charles Cush, Christi Helm, Thomas Andrew Binkowski, Robert M. Reed, Adam Russo and William Bernard Eagan, III. 

Note that PN will link candidate websites (not social media sites) as received/requested by the candidates.

Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education

Mission Statement: The mission of Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 is to inspire all students to achieve their greatest potential.

At the moment, PN is waiting for verification of candidates running for local school boards serving Naperville via the DuPage County Clerk’s Office. 

Update, Dec. 21, 2020 / Eleven candidates have filed for four four-year seats on the School District 204 Board of Education: Marina Kosak, Saba Haider, Allison Fosdick, Rajesh Narayan, Kader Sakkaria, Laurie Donahue, Supna C. Jain, Shannon Adcock, Yanmei May Liang, Susan Taylor-Demming and Robert O. Harris.

Note that PN will link candidate websites (not social media sites) as received/requested by the candidates.

File for school and park board candidacy, December 14-21, 2020

Filing dates for candidates for park board and school (click here) boards are slightly later than City Council. Yet, a primary election, if needed, and consolidated election day 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 informed.

Local elections matter most…

Be prepared to vote where it matters most—locally. Vote where you can meet, greet and get to know candidates who make decisions with the biggest impact on Naperville. Become familiar with elected officials up close, practicing protocols. Thank you.

Remember! Follow local protocols to remain safe. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Wash your hands often, but don’t wash away your commonsense.

Note: When/if more than 16 candidates file for the four available seats by Dec. 21, 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.

Good news! A Primary Election will not be needed in Naperville, Illinois! Though many residents claim to have voter fatigue, rest up with knowledge that locally elected officials are the ones that impact your life the most. All eligible voters are urged to get to know the candidates and be informed by Consolidated Election Day, April 6, 2021.

Thanks for reading and paying attention.

Last Updated / Dec. 22, 2020

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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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