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Bender, trustee slate, seek four more years in office

Fox Lake Mayor Ed Bender said he is teaming up with three incumbent village trustees and running as a slate in the upcoming spring election.

Bender said he will join with Kevin Burt, Valerie Griseta and Jon Mumford and form the “Focused on Fox Lake Party” for the April 9 election. Village Clerk Kimberly Mate, who was appointed the position in 2010, is also running with the slate to seek election to a full term.

Bender, a retired vice-president of W.W. Grainger, is completing his fourth year as mayor after serving eight years as a village trustee.

He cited getting the village’s finances in order and attempting to bring developers to the village as his greatest accomplishments during the past four years.

“I am encouraged that we have been able to streamline our accounting and budgeting processes, as well as balancing the budget,” Bender said. “We have acquired grants, conducted public hearings and met with the business community about future plans and directions.”

His future goal is to add a hotel on the shores of Fox Lake, as well as redevelop the corner of Grand and Route 12, he said.

“Our candidates are Focused On Fox Lake and are committed to seeing these projects become a reality,” Bender said.

Burt is a local business owner who served on the village zoning board before being elected trustee in 2008. Griseta, an executive sales administrator for a Chicago-based food manufacturer, also served on the village planning board before being elected trustee in 2008. And Mumford, a firefighter and paramedic with the Round Lake Area Fire Protection District, worked for the Fox Lake Street Department and the Fox Lake Fire Protection District before winning election as trustee in 2008.

Bender will face off against trustee Donny Schmit, who announced his intention to run for mayor last week.

Schmit said he is running because “there is a lack of transparency to the constituency and in various departments working for the village.”

Running on Schmit’s slate are: Ron Stochl, chairman of the village’s zoning board; Bernie Konwent, president of the village’s Leisure Village Homeowners Association; and self-employed businessman Jeff Jensen. Niki Warden will run for clerk.

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