Three incumbents, newcomer running in Algonquin

Three incumbents will face a lone challenger in the race for available seats on the Algonquin village board.

Longtime incumbents Robert Smith, Jerry Glogowski and Brian Dianis are all seeking another term, while resident Richard Flynn hopes to unseat one of them.

Flynn, 29, a business manager for J.P. Morgan Chase, says he’s running because some trustees have forgotten their roots.

Over the summer, Flynn and 139 other residents from the Indian Grove subdivision approached trustees this summer over proposed plans to widen a few streets within the neighborhood. The residents were upset because the widening project meant that many mature trees would be knocked down.

Although a compromise was eventually reached to save about 40 trees, two board members initially dismissed the group’s concerns, Flynn said.

“To me, that makes me feel like some of them have forgotten who elected them and who they’re truly working for,” Flynn said.

But Flynn may be in for a battle, as Algonquin voters have a history of returning incumbents to office.

In the 2011 trustee election for example, a pair of challengers — Ken Fishleigh and Michael Stratejcruk — took on three longtime incumbents and lost. The incumbents were Debby Sosine, John Spella and Jim Steigert.

Flynn says his business experience qualifies him for office, as he manages money for companies making more than $500,000 a year. He sees Algonquin as another business he could assist.

“We know there’s a challenge ahead and I‘ve got some good people helping me out,” Flynn said. “I think ... people are ready for a change and people really do want fresh people in there, so we’ll see. It’s obviously up to the voters and hopefully things will swing our way this time.”

Smith, first elected to the village board in 1993, says he’s running again because he has much left to contribute to Algonquin. He pointed to ongoing downtown development, the ongoing Algonquin Bypass construction project and hiring a new village manager as some of the things he’s looking forward to seeing to fruition, if elected to another term.

“I just feel that there’s still a lot to do and I feel over the years I’ve been able to contribute to the development of the community and I want to continue to do so,” Smith said.