Civic Betterment Party announces Glen Ellyn candidates
Glen Ellyn’s 82-year-old nonpartisan nominating party has announced its slate of candidates hoping to run for village offices in April 2013.
A total of 12 candidates were recruited, interviewed and slated by the 17-person nominating committee of the Civic Betterment Party, a platform-neutral organization that aims to help residents run for local office without the “burdens of political fundraising, partisanship and campaigning,” officials say.
Candidates who are the top vote-getters at the party’s town meeting, scheduled this year for Dec. 1, will get the group’s assistance in preparing and filing nominating petitions to get their name on the April ballot.
In addition to the candidates announced this week by the party, residents will be able to make nominations from the floor at the town meeting. All candidates will speak and take questions, before residents will cast secret ballots for their choices.
The Dec. 1 meeting is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center.
Early voting for the Civic Betterment candidates is scheduled at the Civic Center from 3 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 27, and from 5 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29.
The Civic Betterment process doesn’t preclude others from running for office in the spring election.
Two candidates are seeking the party’s nomination for village president, after current Village President Mark Pfefferman announced last September he wasn’t going to seek a second term — a decision that falls in line with the village tradition of elected officials only serving a four-year term. The candidates for village president are:
Ÿ Alex Demos, 50, a longtime resident who chairs the newly formed Glen Ellyn Business Process Improvement Committee, and once served as vice president of Glen Ellyn Economic Development and as president of the Glen Ellyn Jaycees. Demos is president/CEO of Professional Paving & Concrete Company and also serves on the Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital board of directors.
Ÿ Mary Loch, 58, a former village trustee from 2001 to 2005 who is a member of the zoning board of appeals. She served on the Economic Development Corporation board in 2006, the plan commission from 1999 to 2001, and has been a member of the Glen Ellyn League of Women Voters since 1995, serving as its president from 1997 to 1999. Loch is controller of Community Housing Advocacy and Development, a nonprofit property management company in Wheaton.
A total of five candidates are running for three available trustee positions, left open by current trustees Peter Cooper, Phil Hartweg and Carl Henninger. The candidates are:
Ÿ Dean Clark, 66, a 57-year Glen Ellyn resident who served on the plan commission from 2000 to 2004, District 41 school board from 1985 to 1997, Illinois State Board of Education from 2002 to 2009, and is currently on the Education Funding Advisory Board. Clark is president and CEO of Graphic Chemical & Ink Company.
Ÿ Timothy Elliott, 41, a member of the plan commission, president of the DuPage County Historical Museum Foundation board and member of the Metropolitan Family Services-DuPage board. Elliott was a DuPage Water Commission trustee. He is a partner with the law firm of Rathje & Woodward.
Ÿ Thomas Koprowski, 44, founder and co-chair of the Glen Ellyn Backyard BBQ, which has raised $50,000 for Bridge Communities. Koprowski is an associate director at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Ÿ Tim O’Shea, 45, a 14-year resident who is chief operating officer of a financial services firm. O’Shea is a longtime coach and team administrator for both of his children’s basketball programs.
Ÿ James Ozog, 60, a 26-year resident, who served as volunteer counsel for Our Town Our Field, the local citizens group opposed to lights at Memorial Field. Ozog is a partner at Wiedner & McAuliffe, focusing on product liability and commercial/tort litigation. His wife Mary is a member of the Glenbard High School District 87 board.
The lone candidate for village clerk is Catherine Galvin, 48, a member of the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation board and Milton Township Community Emergency Response Team. Galvin is an account representative for a food broker.
Four Civic Betterment candidates are also seeking three open seats on the Glen Ellyn Public Library board: Kelli Christiansen, Amie Fiedor, Gina Meyers and Ran Sailer.
For more information on the slated candidates, visit glenellyncivicbetterment.com.