Bartlett will miss Kelly’s leadership

I have been a Bartlett village resident for all of 21 years, not as long as many people, but long enough to know Village President Mike Kelly and what kind of man he is.

I think most of us in Bartlett respect Mike Kelly for his caring and thoughtful way he gets the job done. He has been a fantastic village president. Mike has worked tirelessly to get the flooding situation under control, attracted new business to our town, attended multiple meetings with residents to help them with their concerns. His door has always been open to all residents no matter what their political persuasion.

The job of village president is a thankless job with little pay and not much glory. Yet Mike Kelly was willing to help better our community. More people voted for him than I think for any other Bartlett president.

I love Bartlett. There are a lot of good people in this town. We are not all perfect, but we try the best we can. Mike Kelly is a good and decent person and we all know it. We were very lucky to have him leading our community.

Some people think that if you are late on your taxes, but you still pay them, well — you are not fit to be village president. I beg to differ. What is important is for our village president to do the best he can for our community. Mike Kelly broke no laws. Many of us have been in his situation.

So Bartlett, who do you want to lead our town? A thoughtful caring man who loves Bartlett or a machine who thinks you have to be perfect no matter the cost? I will tell you that the loss of Mike Kelly as our village president will weigh heavily on Bartlett.

So next time when you are in the voting booth, THINK, don’t just pull the lever. Think about the kind of people you want to lead our community. You got it right with Mike Kelly. Maybe you should give more consideration to who you vote in as trustees.

Christian Stepleton

Bartlett