Endorsement: Wehrli for DuPage forest board, Dist. 5
Two familiar faces - Mary Lou Wehrli and Carl Schultz - are battling again for the Republican nomination in DuPage Forest Preserve District 5. Schultz, a horticulturist from Aurora, held the post for 10 years before Wehrli, a businesswoman from Naperville, unseated him four years ago. Now Schultz is trying to regain his seat in the district, which includes all or parts of Naperville, Lisle, Warrenville and Aurora.
These are two solid candidates with very different styles. Schultz is quiet; Wehrli is brash. Schultz is reluctant to make waves; Wehrli is not. Schultz has the support of virtually the entire board; Wehrli does not.
Both clearly care about the preserves and have been active in tackling projects in their district, from restoration of the Greene Barn to completion of trails - although they bicker about who contributed the most to those efforts.
This one comes down to a choice between styles. Schultz is better able to work collaboratively with fellow board members, but unlikely to challenge them. Four years ago, Wehrli relished her role as an outsider and provided an important critical voice on the commission, but recently seems to have lost some of that fire. Still, we endorsed Wehrli four years ago and she's done nothing to make us change our minds about her ability to provide a strong, independent voice for her district.