Pingree trustee to run for village president

Pingree Grove Trustee Greg Marston on Wednesday announced his intention to run for the highest office in town.

Marston, who is in his first two-year term as a trustee, says he wants to be part of a regime change at village hall, that will "bring reform to village hall" and create consensus with open communication.

"In discussions with people in our community, it has become abundantly clear that Pingree Grove needs a change in leadership," Marston wrote in a statement. "Our village needs to be a place where the residents believe that the government is working for them."

Marston, a general manager for Sodexho Healthcare, could not be reached Wednesday to comment beyond his prepared statement.

Meanwhile, Village President Wyman "Clint" Carey says he has not decided whether he'll seek re-election.

"I'm busy still trying to operate the village and keep moving forward," said Carey, 50, a stay-at-home dad.

Carey and Marston have been at odds with each other on a series of issues.

This year, they clashed over the budget, on whether to fire the previous village manager, whether the village should replace the ousted village manager and, most recently, on eliminating a special service area tax in town.

Moreover, Marston advocated releasing closed-session tapes that would have outlined why the previous village manager was fired. He was one of four trustees to vote to ax Village Manager Scott Hartman.

Marston has also been part of a bloc of trustees that opposes Carey on key votes.

Earlier this year, Marston, along with Trustees Steve Wiedmeyer and Stephanie Mette, launched an internal investigation that examined Carey's spending habits and allegations that village staff felt compelled to baby-sit Carey's young son.

Hartman found Carey hadn't done anything wrong, and the trio forwarded the investigation onto the Kane County State's Attorney's office, which reached the same conclusion.

Carey and Marston also sometimes spar with each other at public meetings over smaller issues, such as whether the board should curb the finance director's spending power.

But if, in the end, Carey decides to defend his seat against Marston, he awaits the upcoming debates.

"I think that there's a difference between us and the voters will be able to explore that this coming election," Carey said. "I look forward to the exchange of ideas."