Moving Winfield in a positive direction

Winfield has much to celebrate as the efforts of our village board and staff continues to move the village in a positive direction. Recently named as one of the Top 10 in the area for housing starts, with more projects on the horizon, the village of around 9,000 people is making progress despite the tough economy. Additionally, new businesses are opening and other major projects such as The Winfield Riverwalk promise to continue generating optimism that will drive the Town Center plan toward reality.

We have an election in April for 3 trustee positions. Unfortunately, one candidate has spread malicious and false information seeking to discredit the hard work the village board and staff have been doing to help survive the economic recession. While people can always have differing opinions, spreading rumors and inaccurate information, whether through a mailer or anonymous blog website, is certainly not indicative of the desired values of a public official.

Keeping village government open and honest is something we must continue to support in our election decisions. Voters should examine carefully the character of those who are running for office, follow the methods they use to distribute their message, and evaluate the content for accuracy. While it is always encouraging to have people showing interest to serve the community, not everyone has the characteristics that will make for a successful trustee.

In this upcoming election, my endorsement is for candidates that have clearly demonstrated the desire to serve our village, Glenn VadeBonCoeur, Cliff Mortenson, and Jim Hughes. Each is currently active in our village government, and has generously put forth the time and efforts that deserve our vote. They share the ideals of good government and practice those ideals in their actions. I wish them continued success in the upcoming election.

Steve Romanelli

Winfield