Three running for Glen Ellyn village president

Three men, all of whom have served as a Glen Ellyn trustee, are competing to become the village's next president.

Candidates Tim Armstrong and Jay Strayer are running through the village's Civic Betterment Party, a group that slates candidates for local offices at a town meeting held several months before the spring election.

Mark Pfefferman is running as an independent.

This year's town meeting is scheduled for Nov. 22 at the civic center, and residents are encouraged to attend and vote on which names should appear on the ballot. Voting will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and candidates will speak from 11 a.m. to noon.

Armstrong, 44, has been a trustee since 2005, and his term expires in the spring. He also was on the village's zoning board of appeals and is an attorney in private practice.

He hopes to help rebuild the downtown and finish some projects he began as a trustee.

"This is a really cool time to be on the village board," he said. "The next village board gets to probably implement this new downtown plan, and it's a chance for us to put our fingerprint on what's going to happen in Glen Ellyn in the next 30 to 40 years."

He also hopes to focus on making the village more transparent by televising all workshop meetings, and he hopes to find a better way to increase the village's sales tax revenue.

Armstrong thinks he'd be the best candidate because he says he's more in tune with what's going on in the village, he's not afraid to make tough decisions and he has a good sense of business because he runs his own.

Pfefferman, 49, did not go through the Civic Betterment Party's interview process and decided he'll present his case from the floor as an independent on Nov. 22. He served as village trustee from 2003 through 2007, was a College of DuPage board member from 1983 through 1989 and is currently the director of business intelligence at TransUnion.

Pfefferman said he's running to create a partnership between the residents of Glen Ellyn and their government, and hopes to increase communication. He also hopes to create a vision for Glen Ellyn.

"How do we know where we're going if we don't know where we want to be?" he asked.

If elected, he wants to make sure all village decisions are made in public using the collective intelligence of everyone involved, he said. Some short-term goals include flawless execution of basic services, such as making sure garbage is collected, water sewers are working and snow is plowed.

Pfefferman said he'd be the best candidate because he has experience from two different boards, and his professional skills will be an asset while serving the village.

Strayer, who is vice chairman of Glen Ellyn's plan commission, served as village trustee from 1999 to 2003 and is a business lawyer.

He plans to focus on helping businesses be successful, working on street and sewer projects and shortening review processes.

"We need to make it easier for people to do business in our community, and we need less restriction," Strayer said.

The main reason he's running is because he wants to make sure the village has solid leaders.

"More than anything else, I'm worried about the village having good leadership going forward," he said. "I think we are a good group of candidates, but I'm concerned about their background."

He just sold his practice to another law firm and is sure he'll have time for the job.