Wauconda mayoral candidates differ on experience, agree on communication
One of Wauconda's mayoral hopefuls is a veteran trustee with more than a decade of local government experience, while the other has never served in elected office.
Regardless, candidates Lincoln Knight and Bryan Anderson both see communication at village hall has been problematic during the current mayor's tenure and needs to improve. Knight and Anderson are running for a 4-year term in the April 4 election. Incumbent Frank Bart is stepping down after a single term.
The candidates discussed their skills, the need for better communication and other issues in a joint Daily Herald interview and in questionnaires.
Knight has served on Wauconda's village board since 2005. He previously served four years on the Wauconda Park District board, including a stint as president. Knight also represents Wauconda on the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency board and fills in as mayor when Bart is absent from village board meetings.
"I'm just looking to take the village to the next level, and I think I have the experience to do that," said Knight, who works in construction supply sales.
Anderson is a real estate agent who has never held elected office. He's volunteered on several community projects, is a Rotary Club of Wauconda member and was appointed to serve on the village's police commission in October 2016.
He said he wants to make sure residents "have a good say" and are involved in moving the town forward.
Although inexperienced politically, Anderson said he will be able to bring factions together and "breathe new life" into village hall.
Both Knight and Anderson said communication at village hall needs to improve. Bart and the trustees feuded publicly, culminating with a no-confidence vote against the mayor in August 2015 that Knight orchestrated.
Residents often took issue with the things the mayor said and did, too.
Knight said communication "is huge" for village government and needs improvement in Wauconda.
"The mayor needs to communicate with the trustees, and the trustees need to communicate back," he said. "It is a two-way street."
Communicating with residents and staffers is key, too, Knight said.
"Everybody has to be working together," he said.
Knight pledged to work collaboratively and to be a good listener.
"A village is a collaboration of elected officials, staff, residents and business owners," Knight said. "I certainly do not claim to have all the answers, but I do know how the process works and surround myself with people who will work to have the best interests of the entire village in mind."
Anderson said the communication issues during the Bart era "break down to a lack of respect for one another" and assigned blame to both sides.
He was optimistic about improving the situation.
"If you can break through that, you can work with anybody, because I think we all have a common idea of what we want to see happen in the town," Anderson said.
Bart, a U.S. Army Reserve officer who has endorsed Anderson, was fond of using military analogies and a military leadership style in his early days as mayor. Anderson rejected what he called a "my way or the highway" managerial style.
If elected, Anderson said he will listen to people's concerns and work cooperatively.
"You have to be willing to reach across to someone and say, 'Hey, let's stop for a minute, let's discuss it,'" he said. "The more voices you have speaking, the better answers or solutions you'll come up with."