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Endorsement: Daluga, Lohmeyer, Windon for Barrington village board

The six candidates for three Barrington village board seats fall firmly into two camps.

On the one side, you have incumbents Jim Daluga and Robert Windon and newcomer Jason Lohmeyer running together. They are proud of the direction the village is going in and, while they support new development and growth, downtown and elsewhere, they stress a need for balance to protect Barrington's small-town feel.

On the other side, you have a slate of three challengers: Mike Kozel, JoAnn Fletcher and Maureen Yates. All express dissatisfaction with the current board. They are especially critical of the village's legal battle against Canadian National railroad and the choices made for the retail development project at Hough and Main, citing a need for more residential space downtown. While we share the belief that more housing for empty nesters and young couples is something that would greatly enhance the village, we echo the current board's conviction that Hough and Main is not the place.

Incumbents Daluga and Windon have served Barrington well, and they deserve the chance to continue what they have started. They understand that development, while vital, must be approached with a degree of caution. Both have our endorsement.

Among the newcomers, Lohmeyer and Fletcher, in particular, bring much to the table. We appreciate Fletcher's emphasis on collaboration, but are concerned that her slate, while highly critical of the board, offers few concrete ideas for spurring development that wouldn't increase density downtown. Lohmeyer approaches the board with some interesting ideas of his own, including a business incubator proposal that calls for more creative use of vacant commercial space. Lohmeyer's financial background and his experience on the Barrington Firefighters Pension Board make him an attractive candidate as well. He has our support.

Slusher: How to use our endorsements

We believe we have a duty to endorse

Jason Lohmeyer, 2015 Barrington village board candidate
Robert Windon, 2015 candidate for Barrington village board
Mike Kozel, 2015 caniddate for Barrington village board
Maureen Yates, 2015 candidate for Barringto Village Board
JoAnn Fletcher, 2015 caniddate for village board
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