Endorsement: Gary Fasules for Glen Ellyn village president

The village president's race in Glen Ellyn this spring comes against the backdrop of the kind of political kerfuffle seldom seen in the cosmopolitan suburbs.

Shortly after losing a closely contested endorsement bid at the voter caucus of the Civic Betterment Committee, then-Village President Mark Senak abruptly resigned in November and followed that resignation with some harsh words for Trustee Gary Fasules, the man who won the influential endorsement over him.

It was not the first time Senak resigned, or at least tried to. As a village trustee in 2019, he also announced he was resigning during a debate that was not going his way over a downtown apartment development. In that instance, he changed his mind before his resignation became official.

For now, Trustee Donna Jean Simon has been named acting village president until either Fasules or former Trustee Jim Burket is elected to a full term as village president in the April 1 election. Either way, we all can hope for better decorum.

Frankly, we are confident that Glen Ellyn will get it. Both Fasules and Burket are solid and community-minded candidates who long have been active in town. Both of them also seem committed to public engagement and collaboration, and in their meeting with a member of our Editorial Board, they discussed local issues respectfully. We find both of them qualified and likeable.

Our endorsement goes to Fasules, mainly because of his more extensive public service experience. He is finishing his third term as a member of the village board, including some time years ago that he served as acting village president. He's been involved in a variety of committee roles, including those that give him insights into regional and state politics that would be helpful for any mayor.

We also are mightily impressed with Fasules' perception of the village president's role in the community and the importance he places on working together with all players, the responsibility that he sees as incumbent on any leader to persuade and listen, not just dictate.

"The president," Fasules said, "has to have teamwork with the village manager and the staff. He's got to have teamwork with the board, and he's got to have teamwork with the residents. And then that all has to come together. That's the major role. When that breaks down, everything breaks down."

Burket is a good person. His heart is in the right place, and he is a good candidate. But Fasules is a better one.