Endorsement: Meier for Mundelein mayor

Voters have a choice between two experienced trustees for Mundelein’s next mayor.

Candidates Robin D. Meier a retired former planning and zoning commissioner, and Tim Wilson, a food broker, are competing to succeed Mayor Steve Lentz, who isn’t seeking a fourth term.

Meier is in her third stint as a village trustee. She has served on the board from 2008 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2021, and again since 2023. Meier unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2013 and 2021.

She has served on the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency, Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, Emergency Telephone System Board and other board committees. She was involved in Groot contract negotiations, chaired the Old Village Hall Study committee report and has been a long-standing volunteer with Mundelein community groups.

Wilson was elected to the village board in 2021. This is his first mayoral campaign. He has 30 years of experience in people management in the food industry.

The candidates’ top campaign priorities include filling vacant storefronts and completing development of the land around village hall.

Meier believes it is imperative to respond quickly to post-COVID changes to retail, online shopping, AI, work at home and real estate impacts and then understand how those changes affect downtown business and development efforts.

Wilson sees some highly visible vacancies as the village’s most pressing issue. He believes Mundelein leaders need to work hard on getting the word out on redevelopment opportunities for ambitious and experienced developers and market vacant spaces to businesses outside of the village and offer them incentives to move here.

Both hopefuls value working collaboratively with board members and through differences of opinion. Meier’s more than decade-long experience on the village board and other involvements with county organizations give her a leg up. She is endorsed.