Give Abruscato chance to lead
After Greg Klatecki abruptly resigned the Wheeling village presidency in 2007 with half his term left, trustees were unable to pick a temporary replacement for the final two years.
As a result, Trustees Judy Abruscato, Dean Argiris and Patrick Horcher took eight-month turns in office, a confederation reminiscent of the Chicago Cubs "college of coaches" experiment of the early 1960s, and about as effective.
The board's inability to settle on an acting president showed a lack of leadership by everyone involved. As well, the public has been denied the opportunity to judge someone on two years' service in the job - not a lot of time, to be sure, but better than eight months.
That said, our choice for Wheeling village president is Judy Abruscato. Abruscato has been a trustee for 22 years, and has demonstrated her commitment to the community by working at its most grass-roots levels: the chamber, Rotary, Lions Club and Historical Society.
Abruscato has called for fewer executive sessions, arguing that more of the public's business needs to be conducted in open session. We agree. She also wants to condemn Kmart, improve the senior center and devote more resources to supporting existing businesses.
Faced with the same economic perils befalling many middle-class suburbs, Wheeling needs leadership and consensus, something that's been lacking. We hope Abruscato, with a board that comes together behind her, can direct the village forward.
Abruscato is running against Horcher, a valuable trustee, and David Kolssak, a member of the Chicago Executive Airport board and Klatecki's choice for president. Kolssak is smart and engaging and had he a longer record of public leadership might have won endorsement.
For board, there are four candidates for three seats. Argiris, Ken Brady and Stuart Shapiro say they are independent, but they showed up for the endorsement interview in the same car and participated in a campaign breakfast together. However, they also provided solid answers to questions on the issues, and seemed to have a broader, clearer view of the issues confronting Wheeling than incumbent Mike Horcher. It's likely they will often be on the same page, so we endorse incumbents Argiris and Brady, and challenger Shapiro.
Argiris is particularly knowledgeable on village affairs. Shapiro said the village should consider pay cuts as a way to avoid laying off employees and cutting services, steps that may be worth considering if the economic downturn intensifies. Brady said the village may have to increase what it charges for health care and cut raises to avoid tax hikes.