Nine vie for three seats on water board
It happens every year. You're going down the ballot in the voting booth and you get to the office of commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and wonder: Who remembers this race or has time to research who to vote for?
Well, apparently more and more people.
The low-profile agency attracted some fierce competition in the primary this year, with candidates spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a nondescript - but substantially funded - office that treats sewage and stormwater runoff. The district is requesting a 2009 appropriation of $1.5 billion and a direct levy of about $400 million each year, about $216 bucks per a $200,000 home.
Unlike Cook County government, commissioners of the water board are elected at-large rather than by district, which means that in the overwhelmingly Democratic Cook County, Democrats overwhelmingly control the board. All three commissioners up for election this year are Democrats.
Here's a rundown of the candidates and their positions. Voters pick three candidates for a six-year term.
DEMOCRATS
• Frank Avila: An incumbent from Chicago, Avila is a retired civil engineer. He could not be reached for comment for this story, and his Web page listing campaign issues is blank. His biography says his top priority is commitment to water quality.
• Kathleen Therese Meany: The vice-president of the district, Meany has served since 1990 and says she was the one to begin the household hazardous waste collection program, which keeps harmful chemicals out of the sewers and water supply. The Chicago resident and Harvard grad notes that she was instrumental in restoring federal funding for the Deep Tunnel project two years ago. Her goals are completing two rainwater reservoirs currently under construction, which will alleviate flooding.
• Cynthia Santos: The Chicago incumbent says she helped start the rainwater barrel purchase program which allows homeowners to water their lawn while saving water. Criticized for poor attendance of district meetings, Santos said the absences were due to family illnesses and deaths.
REPUBLICANS
• David Clearwater: The appropriately-named Clearwater is an Arlington Heights Republican and DuPage County native. Having previously worked as a technician in the water quality industry and now as a manager at a manufacturing facility, he has seen MWRD employees in action and says he sees room for them to work more efficiently. He says the district has never fully answered for its practice of keeping private summer internships that, miraculously, went overwhelmingly to relatives of board commissioners and politicians.
• Paul Chialdikas: The Lemont resident could not be reached for comment but his Web site says he'll promote fiscal accountability and establish clear benchmarks so voters can gauge how the district is doing.
• Daniel Flores of Tinley Park could not be reached for comment and has no Web site.
GREEN PARTY
• Nadine Bopp: The Chicago resident has a bachelor's in ecology and teaches environmental science. She says the district is currently not utilizing the best bacteria treatment techniques possible, such as using ultraviolet light at every, instead of just some, treatment plants to kill bacteria. The measure would cost just $8 per household, she said. She also advocates separating wastewater and rainwater runoff.
• John "Jack" Ailey: Ailey takes many of his campaign cues from Bopp, noting she's the expert on environmental issues. But this former steelworker and electrician says he's worked for clean air in Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, and he advocates using methane produced from treatment methods to power some of the operations. Like Bopp, he advocates separating stormwater from wastewater, but acknowledges that would be a massive infrastructure undertaking.
• Rita Bogolub: A math teacher from Berwyn, Bogolub could not be interviewed for this story, but is running in tandem with the other two Green party candidates and supports similar positions.