Campton Hills trustee hopefuls differ on ending board strife
Six hopefuls seeking three 4-year Campton Hills trustee seats agree the board needs to cease its dysfunction, but they disagree as to how to do it.
Trustees Laura Andersen, Susan George and newcomer Michael O'Dwyer are running as a slate.
Don Sheluga, Mike Turgeon and Steven Galloway were recruited by Village President Patsy Smith to run for office.
Sheluga and Turgeon are running as write-in candidates for trustee; Smith is a write-in for village president.
For months, a board majority consisting of Andersen, George, Al Lenkaitis and Harry Blecker, who is running for village president, has clashed with Smith on just about everything ranging from simple meeting minutes to the continued employment of the police chief and village administrator.
In a Daily Herald endorsement interview this week, candidates acknowledged the infighting and "Tuesday Night Fights" on the board have hurt the village's image.
Sheluga, Galloway and Turgeon said they would work toward civil compromise.
"It's embarrassing," Sheluga said. "It's discouraging for all the folks who volunteer to help the village."
Galloway says it's OK to have board members disagree and it can even be dangerous if all board members think alike.
"Debate is healthy," Galloway said. "You need varying points of view to get to the best solution.
George, Andersen and O'Dwyer stressed that Blecker has the right management style to move away from what Andersen dubbed as Smith's "autocratic methods."
"It's more than just an image (problem). It goes much deeper than that," said O'Dwyer, who wants to post more of the village's budget information on it's website. "It's turned into council wars. There's no trust."
Turgeon also agreed that "democracy is messy."
"My issue with the messiness is things aren't getting done," said Turgeon, who acknowledged Smith's leadership style can be blunt.
"You're going to have disagreements, but you're on the board for service above self. I wasn't seeing that," Turgeon said.
Turgeon asked what Blecker's slate would do if Smith won the election.
"Are you going to continue to argue?" he asked.
Replied Andersen: "It's going to change. I have no doubt."
Early voting begins on Monday. For a list of polling places, visit kanecountyelections.org.