Endorsements: Davis, Hassler, Taglia for Villa Park village board

The seven-way race for three seats on the Villa Park village board is a contentious one. Three candidates are aligned with village president candidate Deborah Bullwinkel, and three candidates are aligned with village president candidate John Heidelmeier. One candidate is on his own. We like him the best and endorse Gregory Hassler. A member of the planning and zoning commission who has a good grasp on the myriad issues facing Villa Park, Hassler has the background both civically and professionally as a business account manager for an insurance company to make the difficult decisions, especially as they relate to economic development. For the other two seats, the incumbents John Davis and Robert Taglia are proud of their efforts, along with Bullwinkel, to bring in outside people to “professionalize” the city administration. They are also aligned with Bob Wagner, seeking to move from library board to village board. The staffing moves have been criticized by the other three candidates — Richard Biagioli, Tony Gurdak and Rodney Pate. Of those three, Gurdak is well-known in town and has experience as a school board member to his credit. But we believe the incumbents have made progress and should remain. We endorse Davis and Taglia along with Hassler.