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Continuity versus change a theme in Buffalo Grove village board race

The value of continuity versus change was the theme when three incumbent Buffalo Grove village trustees faced off with three challengers last week at a candidates forum hosted by the Stevenson High School Political Action Club and the Buffalo Grove Lincolnshire Area Chamber of Commerce.

The incumbents - Michael Terson, Jeffrey Berman and Steven Trilling - stressed the need for continuity in confronting the village's challenges ahead.

"We're at a critical time in our community's history," Terson said, noting the financial hit the village could take under Gov. Bruce Rauner's plan to cut municipalities' share of the state income taxes in half. "This is not the time for a leadership change in our community."

Terson said he has gone to Springfield to lobby legislators on the village's behalf.

"Ask these challengers if they have done that," he said.

Berman also stressed the importance of experience.

"Experience counts, and this is no time for on the job training," he said.

Trilling alluded to opponents who may have been initially driven to run by the now dead downtown proposal.

"Seeking a candidacy on a single issue, an issue that no longer exists, should not be enough reason to hold elected office," said Trilling, who's served 13 years on the village board.

"All the candidates have an interest in serving our community. However, interest is not enough," he added.

The challengers in the April 7 municipal election - Dave Weidenfeld, Dan Petersen and Adam Moodhe - argued that while they lack the incumbents' village board experience, they have more than enough familiarity with the community to take on its challenges.

The newcomers also were critical of the current board, particularly its handling of residents' response to the proposed downtown plan.

"I believe in an open board that encourages resident participation in the process, wants and desires to hear opposing viewpoints, demonstrates a true concern for residents, promotes the preservation of open space and is concerned about the flooding issues, and would never challenge our freedom to speak out in a public meeting, like our current board has," said Petersen, a principal at an environmental consulting firm, and a founding member of the anti-downtown plan group Save Buffalo Grove.

Weidenfeld, a retired attorney, emphasized the importance of improving the economic environment for the village's business community.

"If we invest in our local business community, instead of having the quality of our life, which I always value here, dependent upon our real estate taxes, we'll find there is a broader base to support that," he said.

Moodhe, who is in his 14th year on the Buffalo Grove Days committee and his 10th year with the Buffalo Grove Emergency Management Agency, floated the idea of a two-year waiver of building permit fees for commercial and retail development that want to remodel their buildings and their signs.

"I'm offering a real incentive to business owners," he said.

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