Many seeking change on Elgin council
The three Elgin City Council incumbents whose terms are up in spring 2009 have 65 years of combined service on the dais.
The seven challengers hoping to spur change on April 7 have none, but they bring a variety of backgrounds and outlooks to the campaign.
Council members Robert Gilliam, Juan Figueroa and John Walters all are seeking re-election to four-year terms.
The newcomers - Shane Nowak, Linda Quezada, Lenora Scruggs, John Prigge, Bruce Trego, Brenda Harris Khan and Richard Dunne - see the election as a prime time to grab at least one of the three seats.
Nowak, an emergency room technician who finished 10th out of 11th in an Elgin primary in February 2007, said he wants to reduce property taxes and the size of government in general.
"Government is not getting any smaller. It's just getting bigger and bigger," Nowak said. "My philosophy on government is concrete. I'm not going to waver on it."
Quezada, an Elgin Area School District U-46 transportation employee, said she would bring a fresh perspective to the council and would work to make recreation fees more affordable.
"There are three kinds of people in this world: people who wonder what happened, people who don't know what happened, and people who make things happen. I am one of those people who makes things happen," she said.
Prigge, an auctioneer, said he is unhappy with the direction of the city and that incumbents need to be shown the door.
"I want to have my hands on the wheel for where the city is going to go," he said. "I'm going to be an immediate influx of ideas and solutions that are so desperately needed."
Harris Khan, a former administrative assistant to an Elgin manufacturing firm, said she would work toward bringing more affordable housing to the area, along with helping companies create more jobs.
"Things in Elgin are changing so fast, some of the city council members don't have up-to-date perspectives," she said.
Dunne, the Elgin fire marshal, said he wants to give back to the community and doesn't have any sweeping reforms or changes to bring to the council.
"I don't feel that the voices on the west side are being heard, especially the far west side," he said.
Trego and Scruggs could not be reached for comment and did not return phone messages.
Six people are seeking a fourth seat that has a two-year, unexpired term. On Feb. 24, voters will narrow the field down to four candidates. Charlene Sligting, Michael Robins, Al Fernandez, Michael Warren, Emi Morales and Brenda Rodgers are running.