Above / During the January 2023 meeting of the Senior Task Force, details were launched for the first in a series of three municipal candidate forums to be hosted in collaboration with the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation in Council Chambers. The first forum was held Jan. 31. Future forums are Feb. 28 and March 14. The first 90-minute program was recorded by NCTV and is linked below. Stay tuned for more!
The medium is the message and photos reflect 125 attendees at the first forum. In a light-hearted moment during a Rapid Fire round of 10 questions in search of one-word answers, moderator Mark Wright asked what “B” word would be important during their term if elected. Among the answers were “brave,” “business,'” “bold,” “blazing,” “belonging,” “bombastic,” “bonding” and “babysitting.”
UPDATE, Feb. 3, 2023 / Thanks to 11 City Council hopefuls and an audience of 175 attentive individuals for braving the frigid cold to attend the first of three 90-minute Public Forums. The first forum featured candidates running to serve 4-year seats on the Naperville City Council. Watch it here!
Just prior to the first of two forums featuring City Council candidates, seating order at the dais was determined by drawing lots.
According to Liz Spencer, Executive Director at NCTV-17, “We plan to put up by Friday on our website. It will air on the channel next week.”
Watch for more details of the schedule for the rebroadcast of the 90-minute forums. Times will be posted as soon as available. Thanks for all inquiries and your patience!
Just prior to taking their seats at the dais, eleven City Council candidates posed with forum moderator Mark Wright.Get to know the qualifications of Rebecca Malotke-Meslin, Ashley South, Meghna Bansal, Patrick Kelly and Allison Longenbaugh.Visit websites to learn about Nate Wilson, Ashfaq Syed, Madhu Uppal, Josh McBroom, Jodi Trendler and Nag Jaiswal.Thanks to all candidates, organizers, attendees and the City of Naperville for participating in the first forum. The next City Council Candidate Forum is planned Feb. 28. The Mayoral Candidate Forum is set for March 14. Save the dates!Mail-in or early in-person voting is important for 2023 since spring breaks happen at the end of March through the beginning of April. Remember to vote by 7PM on Consolidated Election Day, Tues., April 4, 2023.
Original Post, Jan. 31, 2023 / Thanks to all candidates and/or campaign managers that have been sending notices regarding upcoming meet-and-greet events and candidate forums since early January when the first calendar listing was posted for input on this website.
In January, readers may recall our referenced disappointment regarding an early December meeting when we had a conversation with community organizations known for hosting forums in Council Chambers to see how to better serve the community and the candidates during campaign season. Our aim to unite groups to host time-saving collaborative forums to cut down on the number of events was met without much interest.
Still, our reserved dates for Council Chambers remained on the books for three months of Tuesdays evenings when City Council did not meet. The frigid holidays came and ended, and the New Year was celebrated. Gray days went on and on.
Several candidates contacted us with encouraging words to continue. We wondered how.
And here’s what we call serendipity!
Rob Williams, co-chairman of the Senior Task Force, contacted the City with a request for his group to host a candidate forum. One thing led to another, Williams’ request came to us, and we contacted Bob Fischer from the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation to see if he or his group had any interest in assisting with logistics and timing. Within an afternoon, a collaborative initiative was launched.
All 14 candidates (11 for four Council members and three for Mayor) running to serve five 4-year seats on Naperville City Council replied they’d participate.
Next, three Council Candidate Forums were planned. First, candidates for City Council will be featured on Jan. 31. Next up, a second Council Candidate Forum is set for 7PM Tues., Feb. 28.
The third forum will feature three mayoral candidates from 7PM to 9PM Tuesday March 14, also in Council Chambers.
NCTV-17 will tape videos of the forums that will be streamed, archived and broadcast on the City’s government access cable TV and later on NCTV.
Questions for the first forum are from the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation and the Senior Task Force. No questions from the audience will be addressed. However, during the first forum cards will be distributed for the audience to write questions to be considered for the second forum on Feb. 28.
February and March are chock full of meet & greet events, coffees with the candidates and public forums, listed by a candidate’s request at www.positivelynaperville.com.
From now until April 4, we hope you’ll search PN’s website for “Get to know candidates” And stay turned on Election Day with hopes for many happy returns.
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.
Again… 2023 Consolidated Election features nonpartisan elections
Consolidated Election Day is April 4, 2023; yet, beginning Feb. 23, 2023, voters can cast mail-in ballots for Naperville Mayor and City Council, Naperville Park District Board Commissioners, School Districts 203 and 204 Boards of Education, and College of DuPage Board of Trustees.
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.
