Naperville Twp. highway commissioner now plans to seek re-election
Naperville Township Highway Commissioner Stan Wojtasiak has scrapped his plan to step down from his post at the end of his term and decided to seek re-election in April.
Wojtasiak, 77, said he now wants another term because he wants to ensure the township road district doesn't enter into a proposed agreement under which the city of Naperville would provide road services, landscaping and snow plowing for 49.3 lane miles of unincorporated streets.
"I'm afraid if I go and somebody else wins the election they would capitulate with the city," he said. "I don't want that to happen."
Proposals for a road services agreement have been discussed publicly since February, when the city announced it could manage the streets for $800,000 less a year than the road district's recent spending of $1.8 million; the savings could be passed to taxpayers through a lower property tax levy.
Wojtasiak has rejected the deal and said the city's claim of savings is overestimated. If spending on paving projects and money set aside for future expansion of North Aurora Road is removed from Wojtasiak's fiscal 2015 budget, which the city has used in its cost comparison, he said his costs are about the same as the roughly $1 million per year in the city's proposal.
Wojtasiak said he plans to gather the necessary signatures and file petitions to run again for highway commissioner in the April 4 election. He has held the position since he was appointed in December 2002 to fill an expiring term.
"I changed my mind and I'm going to run again," Wojtasiak said. "I think I've got enough popular support behind me and I have the reputation and the integrity to serve the people for another few years."
Wojtasiak is an Army veteran and a certified arborist with a degree in business administration. Before he became highway commissioner, he served as a Naperville Township trustee for 13 years. He lives with his wife, Jean, in the unincorporated Aero Estates subdivision of the township, and he has four children and 10 grandchildren.