Thornbury, Goodman for Warrenville council

Daily Herald Editorial Board

Challenger Barbara Thornbury is seeking to unseat incumbent Dan Leonard in Ward 2 of the Warrenville City Council. Thornbury gets our endorsement because of her long track record of civic involvement, which includes the Warrenville Park District, Lions Club, Warrenville Women’s Connection, American Cancer Society. She also volunteers weekly at the Discoveries Resale Shop. She would bring an enthusiastic new voice to the city council regarding ways to deal with flooding, downtown development, and improving communication between Warrenville government and the citizens.

Leonard’s interest in participating in the endorsement process stuck us as rather tepid. He did not respond to a Daily Herald questionnaire, which he says he didn’t receive because he couldn’t sign into his city council e-mail account where the questionnaire was sent. He also declined an invitation to meet with the newspaper’s endorsement team.

In Ward 4, Leah Goodman is challenging incumbent David Kratz, who was appointed alderman in November. While Kratz speaks in general terms about Warrenville’s issues, Goodman articulates specifics on a wide array of problems and possible solutions facing the city, with an impressive level of detail for a non-incumbent. She says the most important issue facing Warrenville is to make plans for its future economic prosperity by attracting and keeping businesses so they want to stay in Warrenville. She’s also familiar with state and local programs, and advocates being proactive in getting grants for Butterfield Road development, bike paths, and wireless Wi-Fi hot spots throughout town. We think Goodman deserves the chance to work on the city council to implement her vision for Warrenville’s future.