Moylan for Des Plaines mayor

Des Plaines' next mayor will face major challenges dealing with falling tax receipts due to the economy even as voters have rising expectations due to a financial windfall that's still several years away with the opening of a casino. And due to term limits, the holders of six of the city's 10 elected offices will be new.

While each of the four candidates bring different strengths to the job, none clearly displays all the talents of personality, political skill, public spiritedness and institutional knowledge likely to be called upon in a difficult time.

We're endorsing Martin J. Moylan over Michael Lake, Dick Sayad and Mark Thompson as offering the best balance of those traits.

Moylan, in his positions in budget discussions last fall, showed the ability to make tough cuts, even though union jobs were lost and he's a business agent for the electrical workers union. And his campaign has reached out aggressively to the city's ethnic communities.

While we have concerns about the amount of money he is spending on the race, it isn't out of line with what has been spent on past contests.

If elected, Moylan will need to show that he isn't overly beholden to contributors as he addresses the city's pressing flooding issues and continues to cut the cost of service delivery.

Our choices for city council:

• 1st Ward: Our choice is Patricia Haugeberg, a former 10-year member of the Des Plaines Park District board. Haugeberg will be a voice for downtown condo dwellers, as she lives in the building on Mill Street. She never missed a park board meeting despite frequently traveling for business. Her fellow candidates in the crowded field for 1st Ward are Eugene Fregetto, Michael Bausone and Peter Tatera.

• 3rd Ward: If his campaign is any indication, Matt Bogusz is aggressive, hardworking - and occasionally abrasive. We'd like to see what he can do on the city council. His civic pedigree is strong: the library board; Crime Stoppers and the special events commission. As a bonus, his former employer is state Rep. Elaine Nekritz. Also running for 3rd Ward is respected former alderman Wayne Elstner, and longtime resident Michael Kochevar.

• 5th Ward: Jim Brookman, husband of retiring alderwoman Carla Brookman, is smart and able, and would no doubt put much time and effort into the council. But we believe the city deserves a break from the strident polarization that marked Carla Brookman's term. For that reason we are endorsing Dan Winiecki, a 21-year Des Plaines resident who has been involved with youth sports and the Maine West athletic boosters.

• 7th Ward: Dan Wilson and former Police Chief Joe Kozenczak are both qualified, knowledgeable, accessible to residents - and share many of the same views. We give a slight edge to Wilson, only because Kozenczak's wife, Karen, works for the city manager and we'd rather not have two members of the one family in the administration. But really, it's a tossup.