Write-ins make for contested Arlington Hts. library race

At the end of the regular filing period in late December, incumbent Kerry Pearson was the only candidate running for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library board.

But with the addition of three write-in candidates this week, the current board president is now facing a contested race.

Pearson, who was first elected in 2003, faces Carole Medal, Stefan Tucker and Patricia Turner in a race for two six-year seats on the library board. The three newcomers were announced as candidates in the April 7 election by Cook County Clerk David Orr's office this week.

"When I heard that not enough candidates had signed up for the race I felt it was important to make sure there was good representation on the library board," said Medal, who is the executive director of the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin.

Medal was the recipient of the 2013 Illinois Library Association Librarian of the Year Award and has lived in Arlington Heights for 10 years.

"I know the quality of the library, I know the strength that a library can bring to a community," Medal said. "The Arlington Heights library is one of the premier libraries in the state."

Medal said she would hope to build on the strengths of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, which has been named a 5-star library seven years in a row, making it one of only 21 libraries nationwide to achieve that rank for so many years.

Pearson, an attorney in Arlington Heights, is running for his third term on the board.

"I still have tremendous interest in the library," Pearson said. "I want to see it continue to thrive and maintain it's 5-star rating. I think I can be a benefit to attaining that goal."

Incumbent Charles Drost is not running for another term, which opened up a seat, though originally no one filed for it. Pearson said he thought a few others picked up petition packets, but decided not to run.

"Sometimes people run because they don't like what's going on. I like to think it's a sign that people are happy with what's going on with the library that no one thought they had to run to fix some problem," Pearson said.

He said he spoke with former presidents of the board and no one remembered a similar situation with so many write-in candidates.

"I think I've shown just by my record over the years that I've been both fiscally responsible and done what I can to make the library better," Pearson said. "Basically we try to do more with less. We use limited tax dollars in a way that our taxpayers want and I think we've been successful at that."

Tucker and Turner could not be reached for comment Tuesday.