Can freshman mayors deliver change? Sure, but likely slowly

In a sweeping shift of leadership across the region, at least 35 villages and cities in the west, north and northwest suburbs will have new mayors seated in the coming weeks.

This incoming freshman class of municipal CEOs will face considerable challenges both strictly local - from crime to potholes - and broadly regional, including unemployment, tanking budgets and vacant storefronts.

But like many new jobs, the first roadblocks for some of these greenhorns may be relatively basic, from finding the bathroom to learning how to juggle all the phone calls and meetings.

"I think many of them don't realize how time consuming the position is," says David Bennett, director of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, about one of the top misconceptions about the job as mayor.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which represents municipalities in the six-county Chicago region, will have 90 new mayors in the 221 towns it covers. Of those new mayors, about 30 unseated incumbents in the recent election and 60 were elected to vacant posts.

While many of the incoming mayors may have promised quick action to voters, Bennet and other experts say suburban residents shouldn't expect a sea change in how governments are run across the region despite the new names on a litany of town signs.

"It really depends on the individual communities," says Bennett. "And it depends on everything they are hit with when they walk in the door."

Incoming Gilberts Village President Rick Zirk certainly knows that.

He will soon have the unique experience of starting a job running a town twice. Zirk was first elected South Elgin's mayor in 1997 and served one term. He has since moved to Gilberts and was elected over an incumbent this month to head that suburb.

Zirk, a developer and former public works director, says he learned a lot getting his feet wet in South Elgin and he thinks that will help him hit the ground running in Gilberts.

"I have had the opportunity to make mistakes in another town and learn from them," Zirk says.

In South Elgin, Zirk says he wasn't prepared for the political division that hampered daily business. He feels prepared to handle that this time, though he doesn't expect such pitfalls.

Indeed, most incoming mayors and village presidents have previous experience and many of them are long-serving trustees. Michael Kelly, the incoming Bartlett mayor, served 12 years as Hanover Township supervisor.

"No one told me anything," Kelly says of his first days on the job for the township. "I had zero introduction. It was just like, 'Here is the job. Do it.'"

But Kelly says elected officials just have to put their head down and get to work. They also have to look to others for help.

"When you start something new you have to go into it and you have to be ready to ask for advice and listen to people," he says. "There are going to be challenges for everybody."

And some of those challenges are huge, as in the case with incoming Des Plaines Mayor Martin Moylan, who takes over a city that will soon have a new casino. Moylan said he learned during his two years as an alderman that communication and an action plan was the key to success.

"Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail," he says, "but you always have to keep moving forward."

Ultimately, newly elected officials make their way on their own personal experience, intelligence and expertise, says Kelly.

"As far as the challenges, who knows what they will be?" he says. "Some will come up that you have no idea about and you just have to deal with it."

For new mayors and trustees, however, some groups offer courses to give them the basics to build upon. The Northwest Municipal Conference offers an Elected Officials Institute, which consists of one session every month for nine months. The topics range from budgeting to dealing with the local media and ethics.

The conference has offered the institute since 1977 and they expect a considerable turnout when it starts this summer. Of the 47 municipalities represented in the conference, 25 will have new mayors.

Conference Director Mark Fowler says most new mayors have a pretty good understanding walking in of what the job entails, though some elements, like lobbying the state legislature or dealing with pension laws, can be difficult.

His advice to the incoming freshman class is to look both ways before the crossing the street.

"From my experience," Fowler says, "they should take the time to get the lay of the land."