Endorsements: Burt, Griseta, Mumford for Fox Lake village board

The lakes of Fox Lake continue to beckon out-of-towners as they did in days past, and the candidates for village board know they must capitalize on that to ensure their town’s fiscal health. On the economic development front, a new hotel proposal is showing the most promise of any in the last few years. Two slates are seeking to fill three open seats on the village board, and the trio of incumbents — Kevin Burt, Valerie Griseta and Jon Mumford — deserve to stay on. Burt offers experience with business management and budgeting and has been dogged about bringing new business to Fox Lake in his first term. Griseta, who started her service to Fox Lake on the planning board, has an energetic optimism that will help carry her vision for the village. In his first term, Mumford successfully led a community project, the Fox Lake Municipal Pier project, which was paid for by donations. By comparison challengers, Bernice Konwent, Jeffrey Jensen and Ron Stochl, seem at a loss for ideas. As a slate, they offer few concrete solutions for what they see as the village’s problems, though Stochl understands Fox Lake’s potential and demonstrates independence. A seventh candidate, Bob Hoffman, did not return calls or complete a candidate questionnaire and therefore was not part of the endorsement process.