Grafton Township supervisor challenged for 2013 election

Linda Moore, whose term as Grafton Township supervisor has been marred by lawsuits with the township trustees and all manner of bad blood, plans to give it another go.

The Huntley Republican said she’s is running for re-election to continue her fight to save taxpayers money by opposing a multimillion-dollar township hall.

She also said she expects the drama to end in the event new trustees are seated. The entire board is also up for election. The primary election is next February, the general election is in April.

“I think it could be a new beginning for the township with a new board and it would put an end to the infighting,” Moore said.

Moore made her intentions known Thursday, a day after Martin Waitzman, an Algonquin attorney, announced he was making a play for her job. She did so to clear up any confusion among those who thought she was stepping aside.

“I saw that someone else who wanted to run for the office announced it, so I just wanted to be real clear,” Moore said, refusing to name Waitzman. “I wanted to make sure I was forthright.”

During Moore’s time in office, trustees changed the locks on her office and hired Huntley Village Trustee Pam Fender to act as supervisor. Moore went to court and was granted an injunction, which allowed her to change the locks again and go back to work.

There have also been legal battles that involved what trustees said was Moore’s refusal to pay certain bills and over who had the authority to hire township employees — Moore or the board.

A local attorney has even offered to mediate the situation.

But rather than pointing fingers at who’s to blame for the strife between Moore and the trustees, Waitzman, a Republican, said he would rather focus on resolving it, which is why he’s running for office.

The former Elk Grove Village and Kildeer police officer has attended township meetings since last fall and has been appalled by what he describes as “game playing,” “jousting” and “stonewalling.”

Because he’d be coming in as someone who isn’t tied to the drama, Waitzman says he is in a better position to stop the dysfunction.

“I believe I could end the lack of civility and lack of cooperation,” he said. “I would be able to assist in the parties withdrawing to their own neutral corners and trying to get out of the courthouse because all that’s doing is exacerbating the problem.”