Endorsement: Martini for Lake County Board
In the Lake County Board District 5 Republican race, the choice comes down to well-established credentials in county government vs. newcomers who also have a lot to bring to the table. The candidates are Judy Martini, 63, of Fox Lake, a county board member from 1994 to 2008 who recently returned to the area after living in Kentucky for several years; attorney David Zipp, 41, of Ingleside, a Gavin Elementary District 37 board member and decadelong resident of the area; and Denise Rotheimer, 44, of Ingleside, a victims' rights activist who founded Mothers on a Mission to Stop Violence and ran as a Democrat for the county board's 17th District seat in 2008 when she lived in Barrington.
District 5 includes Fox Lake, Lakemoor, Volo and parts of Round Lake, Wauconda, Antioch and Lake Villa.
Zipp and Martini, in particular, rise to the top for their involvement in local affairs. In addition to his school board position, Zipp leads the Illinois Boaters Association and is a member of the Fox Lake Chamber of Commerce and several fraternal and service organizations. Martini, a former Fox Waterway Agency board member, now is on the Fox Lake Planning Commission and Lake County Housing Authority boards, positions she says she will give up if elected to the $40,945-a-year county board seat.
On issues, all of the candidates oppose seeking a tax hike to buy more forest preserve land now that the fund is running dry.
Rotheimer proposes a binding referendum on whether to build Route 53. Martini opposes a gas tax to extend Route 53 but says if it is built, it should be environmentally sensitive. Zipp strongly supports building the new highway.
In the March 15 primary, we give the edge to Martini over Zipp, whose campaign attacks on his opponent are disheartening.
Martini's long record of effective and collaborative work in government make her the best choice for election to the Lake County Board.