Another contender joins Prospect Heights mayoral race

Prospect Heights resident Nick Helmer is the latest person to seek the city's top spot.

This week, he joined Mayor Pat Ludvigsen and Alderman Dolly Vole, who will be going head to head next April for the city's highest office.

Sixty-six-year-old Helmer, a business owner and real estate developer, said he's aiming to enter the public service sphere after living in the city for the past 25 years.

He comes with some service already, he said. From 1988 to 2000, he served on the Chicago Executive Airport Commission, formerly the Palwaukee Municipal Airport Commission. And his volunteer job as a St. Viator High School basketball coach will help him bring a sense of teamwork to the city board, he said.

On the top of his goals as mayor, Helmer said, is fixing the city's streets, which is currently a hot topic among city officials. The city has been grappling with how to pay for the city's infrastructure, which is in disrepair due to lack of city funds, official have said.

"Driving through our streets - it's a travesty," Helmer said. "They aren't just bad; they are horrible."

To improve them, he'd support home-rule status for the city, which is a question for residents on the ballot in November. Some city officials have touted home rule as the best hope to collect new sources of money. But others have warned it could be used to increase taxes across the board. Helmer is aware of the fear among some, but said if use of home rule power is tailored to only collect taxes from hotels for streets, it'd be a much needed solution.

"It's a good idea if they use the money for the roads," Helmer said. "If it gets abused, then wait for the next election. Don't vote for people who abuse it, and vote them out."

Ludvigsen, who was elected by city council members a year ago after two-term incumbent Rodney Pace stepped down due to health problems, said he'd like to stay in office to maintain continuity with the citizenry. He pointed out that if he was not elected, the city would have three mayors in two years. Ludvigsen also has been a proponent of home rule, urging residents to vote for it in November, even though the same question was voted down a few years ago.

Vole too wants a chance to lead the city. Elected alderman in 2007 for a 4-year term, Vole was the only "no" vote on the council to confirm Ludvigsen as acting mayor, saying her philosophy of how to run the city differed too greatly for her to vote in the affirmative. Vole has been dubious of home rule, saying its power could be abused to raise taxes on residents.

The winner in April will finish out Pace's term, which ends 2011. Pace resigned shortly after being re-elected. Ludvigsen was made acting mayor shortly after and later gave up his trustee seat to become mayor.