Seeking one elected office is enough

There is little debate the election of President Barack Obama pumped much-needed enthusiasm into our political process.

It started with the huge voter turnout in the November election - particularly among younger voters. And, some think a ripple effect helped drive the great many people who filed as candidates for the April 7 consolidated election.

In all, more than 2,000 candidates filed nominating petitions for seats on municipal, park, library, fire and townships boards in the Daily Herald's six-county coverage area.

Not even the Blagojevich mess in Springfield could dampen the desire to serve.

However, while such citizen interest in local government is encouraging, some of the enthusiasm raises concern.

In a Daily Herald story Sunday, reporters Russell Lissau and Mick Zawislak found several candidates who are on the ballot in multiple races. That means they could serve on more than one elected position simultaneously.

At the peak of political excess is Vernon Hills resident Michael Rochow, who is slated to run in three local elections - Vernon Hills village board, Vernon Hills Park District board and the Cook Memorial Public Library District board.

The 27-year-old mechanical engineer has never before campaigned for public office, and said he's running for three seats to increase his chances of serving the public. He reasoned that if he ran for only one seat and was kicked off the ballot because of a technicality or if he was defeated at the polls, he'd miss his opportunity.

"I want to be able to be involved in some way or form in my community," Rochow said.

He's not alone. Ann Oakley is on Cook Memorial library and Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 ballots, Rob LaPorta is running in Grafton Township and Huntley Unit District 158, and Cornelius "Connie" Shanahan is seeking seats on Fremont Public Library board and Fremont Township board.

They say they not seeking power - they just want to contribute more to their community.

That's admirable, but we question the approach.

There's nothing illegal about such filings, but voters should question how much energy and commitment a candidate can spread around to multiple elected positions and still be effective. Serving on any local government board requires time beyond meeting nights.

In Rochow's case, the library and village boards meet the same night, which he said he didn't know before filing his paperwork.

As a rule, the Daily Herald does not endorse candidates who want to hold more than one elected office.

Holding multiple offices raises chances of conflicts of interest, and it looks less like public service and more like personal political empire building.

We think there are enough qualified people willing to serve that we shouldn't have to look to a few to fill seats on multiple boards.