DuPage County Board, GOP; Districts 2, 4
DuPage County Board, Dist. 2
The Republican primary in DuPage Board District 2 has incumbents Brien Sheahan and Patrick O'Shea being challenged by Laura Fitzpatrick, a Lombard village board trustee, and Anna Manzo, an Oak Brook account executive.
Sheahan is endorsed on the strength of his thoughtful independent leadership on the board. Voters who are weary of their tax dollars not being used responsibly have an ally in Sheahan. He has been an outspoken advocate for sound fiscal management. He was also instrumental in giving citizens increased access to government in leading the effort to have county board information posted on the county Web site. Sheahan says he has refused to accept salary increases and other benefits, and has voted against county board pay hikes. He opposes giving county government home rule powers.
O'Shea is also endorsed.
He shares our views on some key issues, such as using sales tax revenue to support public safety instead of the regressive vehicle sticker tax, and exploring home rule as a means of gaining local control in policy making. He would eye, with appropriate caution, the impact any proposed budget cuts would have on vital county services.
O'Shea has also held leadership positions in fashioning county policy in key areas, and has proposed changes in county jail operations that he says could bring millions in new revenue.
Fitzpatrick and Manzo promise fresh perspectives. But they have not presented us with compelling reasons to believe they merit nomination over the incumbents.
The winners in the primary will face Democrats Max Havlick and Barbara Dahl in November. This district covers all or parts Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Lombard, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace and Villa Park.
DuPage County Board, Dist. 4
Republican voters have a choice between two incumbents and a challenger for two seats in DuPage County Board District 4.
We give an enthusiastic endorsement to board member Debra Olson. She is an independent board member, a thoughtful and constructive voice of dissent. Olson has battled wasteful spending and has refused to support budgets that are fiscally unsound. She supports cuts in county board pay and says she has refused to take pay hikes. Olson is also a hard-working board member who has staked out leadership roles in a number of county initiatives. She has shown compassion for people in need and puts a high value on constituent services.
Incumbent Grant Eckhoff is endorsed for the other available seat.
Eckhoff has taken positions we have supported. This includes using sales tax revenue to bolster battered public safety budgets and rejecting a vehicle sticker tax, and eyeing giving the county home rule powers, only with voter approval, as a way for county government to be free of reliance on Springfield for enactment of measures of benefit to the county.
Eckhoff said he has reduced his own pay in light of the county's fiscal difficulties and wants county board salaries rolled back to 2002 levels.
Challenger Mary Dickson, an attorney, insists that the county board needs to get a firmer fix on the size of the county budget deficit.
We must note that Dickson works for Bond, Dickson, & Associates. Patrick Bond, a lawyer in that firm, is representing DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba in a lawsuit the sheriff has brought against his 2006 Republican primary opponent. The Daily Herald is named as a defendant in that lawsuit.
But this is not a factor in our not endorsing Dickson. Rather, she has not made a strong enough case as to why she would more ably serve District 4 than either of the incumbents.
The winners in this primary will face Democrat Richard Dunn in November. District 4 covers all or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Lisle, Lombard, Wheaton and Winfield.