Patsy Smith has no regrets as her Campton Hills tenure ends
Patsy Smith won the battle to incorporate Campton Hills in 2007, helped defeat people who wanted to later dissolve the village, and earned two terms as the village's first and only president.
Tuesday night her bid for a third term came to an unceremonious end as she was defeated by Trustee Harry Blecker by more than 800 votes.
Smith and her supporters were at the same restaurant as Blecker and his slate, which swept three village trustee seats, so Smith shook Blecker's hand and conceded.
Wednesday, Smith reflected on her write-in campaign, her future and the village's path, saying she didn't feel recent fighting on the board would harm her legacy.
"I chose to do what I felt was right for the community and for that I have no regrets," Smith wrote in an email.
"I did not become involved in public service to create a legacy. To the extent I may have one, I believe my most significant accomplishment of the past 10 years was to save this beautiful and unique area from the intrusion of high-density housing and commercial zoning which would have caused much harm to our school district, shallow aquifer and local roads.
"We gave the people a voice and a vote, returned millions of dollars to our local community; that is what the village is all about and I am proud of our accomplishments over the last eight years."
Smith clashed with a majority led by Blecker over numerous issues, including whether the village administrator should be put on leave while the Illinois attorney general's office investigated a possible Open Meetings Act violation, whether to retain the village's police chief, and whether a trustee who moved downstate should resign.
Smith also said Kiva, a controversial drug treatment facility proposed for the village that was eventually rejected in early 2013, hurt her candidacy. She said people perceived that she "promoted" the plan when she was required by law to give the Kiva petitioner a "fair hearing."
Smith was surprised by the margin of her defeat and added she "underestimated" the difficulty of being a write-in candidate.
Blecker's slate of Trustees Laura Andersen and Susan George, along with newcomer Michael O'Dwyer, won all three trustee seats over Smith's slate of Steven Galloway, Don Sheluga and Mike Turgeon.
"We ran a clean campaign," Smith wrote, "and I told them that if the people really understood what was going on, had actually read their qualifications and stopped to think about the consequences of electing the opposition, I was sure the results would have been different. Our slate gave people a choice."
Smith believes the biggest challenges for Blecker will be to follow the law and to deal with Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed cuts to the village's share of the state income tax, which is doled out to towns based on population, She urged residents to monitor the village board and demand to have a say on whether services should be cut or whether revenues must increase to maintain the status quo.
Turgeon said he planned to stay involved in the community and offered his financial expertise for a village committee if Blecker's administration needs it.
Turgeon hopes people can be civil, move forward and heal.
"They've been throwing sand in the sandbox for a while. It's time to stop that," Turgeon said. "We'll try and set an example. Going forward, we still have to get things done. I plan on helping wherever I can."