Sussman mulls run for Buffalo Grove president; Braiman says he's in

For the first time in 16 years, Buffalo Grove will likely have a contested election for village president.

Buffalo Grove Trustee Beverly Sussman announced Tuesday she has picked up petitions to run for village president. Should she file them next month, she will be running against Village President Jeffrey Braiman, who confirmed Tuesday he will run for re-election in April 2015. Braiman said his petitions are ready to be filed.

Petitions must be filed Dec. 15-22 to run for municipal, school board, fire district, park district and library district offices in the April 7, 2015 election.

Not since 1999, when Elliott Hartstein defeated Brian Rubin, has Buffalo Grove had a contested election for village president.

Sussman, who has been a trustee since 2009, said she would refrain from commenting on her candidacy until petitions are turned in next month. She was re-elected in 2013 and is in the middle of that term.

However, given her opposition to letting the controversial proposal for downtown redevelopment move ahead - she voted against referring it to the planning and zoning commission - it would appear that redevelopment of the village campus and golf course would be a major campaign issue.

In voting against the referral, she argued the village hadn't made enough decisions to what it wants in a downtown to push one plan forward.

"We are not ready for this step," Sussman said at the time. "We're not even ready for a ROP (request for proposal). We don't even know what we are requesting."

On Tuesday, Braiman said Sussman, "has every right to run for whatever office she chooses."

Discussing the upcoming election, he said he expects economic development to be a big issue.

"Downtown is obviously a critical issue to the entire village," he said, although he added he doesn't know how the issue will change between now and April.

"It may not be an issue at that point," Braiman said. "We don't know if we're going to have an agreement or not have an agreement at that point. We don't know if the developer is going to walk away - or if the finances are such where it is not going to be viable for us and we walk away from it."

Braiman said he has brought stability, particularly financial stability.

"I think we have been very successful the last 3½, four years. We are as strong now, if not stronger, than we were four years ago economically. I want to continue that, but ... just because we have managed our economics well, there are a lot of things that need to be done, and there are some real significant and serious questions regarding our infrastructure, our roadway system, our water system and sewer system that have to be managed.

"It is going to cost a lot of money to do that. We need planning to do that, and I think I have been able to do that in the past and I hope to continue to do that."

Braiman has been involved in village government since 1987, when he served on the transportation commission. He subsequently joined the zoning board of appeals and, then, the plan commission. He was a Buffalo Grove trustee from 1991-2011 and in 2011 was elected village president.

Sussman, who has lived in Buffalo Grove more than 40 years, is a retired teacher who taught science in Kildeer-Countryside Elementary District 96. She retired as president of AIM Business Printers and has a master's of science in education and a bachelor of arts from the City University of New York.

Her involvement with the village stretches back to the Buffalo Grove Days Committee and the Commission for Residents With Disabilities. She was on the board of the District 96 Foundation for Excellence, has received the Buffalo Grove Park District's Best Friend Award and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Math Teaching for Illinois.

Braiman is an attorney with Braiman & Associates. He graduated from Drake University with a bachelor of arts in 1974. He received his Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School in 1977. He was formerly on the Aptakisic-Tripp Elementary District 102 Long Range Planning Committee and is a former member of the Congregation Beth Am Long Range Planning Committee.