Wauconda trustee Knight announces mayoral bid
Wauconda Trustee Lincoln Knight will run for mayor next spring.
Knight, who's served on the village board for more than 11 years, pledged to make long-range planning a priority and called teamwork "essential" to that effort.
"I will work as a team with the board and professional staff on budgeting, communication, village services and economic development, which are key components to all of our success," Knight said,
Teamwork at village hall has been a particular problem during Mayor Frank Bart's tenure as mayor. Narrowly elected in 2013, Bart was at odds with residents and the majority of the village board from the day he took office over several issues.
He was criticized early on for forcing popular police Chief Douglas Larsson out of that post, and then for delaying the implementation of a plan to bring Lake Michigan drinking water to town.
Bart was seen as so difficult to work with, Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency - the organization that will provide the village's drinking water starting in 2018 - refused Wauconda membership until Bart agreed to let someone else serve as the town's representative.
Knight eventually was chosen for the role.
Knight orchestrated the August 2015 no-confidence vote against Bart, which was supported by the rest of the board. That move followed Bart's participation in an invitation-only teleconference about the plan to close the police department's dispatch center without first alerting or inviting trustees or most of the town's residents.
When Bart ran for mayor, he said he intended to serve only one term. On Tuesday, he said he hasn't changed his plans.
When asked about Knight's mayoral bid, Bart said it was too early to comment on the spring election.
Knight, who also served on the Wauconda Park District board, declined to answer questions about Bart's performance as mayor.
"It is early in the campaign and I am concentrating on moving forward, not looking back," he said. "Wauconda is a great town and I look forward to its bright future."