Only 6 of 13 attend forum for College of DuPage candidates

Maybe it was the 60-degree weather that kept College of DuPage incumbent candidates Michael McKinnon, Mark Nowak and five other candidates for the community college board from attending a Sunday candidates forum.

Only six of the 13 people running for the college board of trustees next month were in attendance at Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard.

Besides McKinnon and Nowak, Ivan Fernandez, Sharon Giorno, Michael Ledonne, Lisa Wehr and Allison O'Donnell left nearly 200 potential voters to stare at seven empty seats with their names on them during the hourlong panel discussion.

Mary Hason, a co-chair of DuPage United, which organized Sunday's forum, said that only O'Donnell and Ledonne contacted organizers ahead of the meeting to say they wouldn't be able to attend.

"I made a big effort to come out here today," said Jackie Karlson of Downers Grove, one of the residents in attendance.

"I'm not a very political person ... but I'm very disappointed not all the candidates are here."

The ones who did show - Jeffrey Handel, Sandy Kim, Matthew Nelson, Kim Savage, Nancy Svoboda and Tom Wendorf - spent the afternoon pledging to guide the college through the turbulent economic environment, and to keep the public informed every step of the way.

"We all need to remember this work is all about the students," Savage said.

"I think the board has lost sight of that. New buildings are nice, but we need to make sure the programs at this school meet the needs of the students."

Nelson also pledged more transparency from the college board, a theme echoed by most of the candidates at Sunday's forum.

"It's kind of lacking," he said.

"I don't want this board to have the perception from the public that there is some sort of hidden agenda."