Endorsements: For Schaumburg trustee, George Dunham, Mark Madej, Scott Felgenhauer
Six candidates are running for three trustee positions on the Schaumburg village board — incumbents George Dunham and Mark Madej, running with zoning board member Brian Bieschke on a Friends of Schaumburg slate; Gujarati Samaj Chicago president Dhitendra “Dhitu” Bhagwakar and former Schaumburg Township Democratic Committeeman Rocco Terranova who are running on a slate aligned with village president candidate Nafees Rahman; and independent Scott Felgenhauer, who's long been active in the community.
They're all good people and solid candidates.
There is no doubt that Dunham and Madej deserve support.
Dunham's public service with the village spans more than 35 years, the last 28 as a member of the village board. He's responsive and knowledgeable, exercises good judgment and has helped make Schaumburg what it is.
Madej, first appointed to the board in 2005, is thoughtful and deliberate, a common-sense trustee who does his homework.
We endorse Dunham and Madej for two of the three seats up for election.
As to the other four, we initially were drawn to Bhagwakar's candidacy as a trustee who could help reflect the large South Asian population in Schaumburg, but although he's obviously committed to helping the community, his mastery of the issues seems limited.
Terranova, retired president and business manager of Sheet Metal Workers' Local 73, is a solid candidate, but we're bothered by his lack of attendance as a candidate at village board meetings.
That leaves us with two candidates for the third seat, and the choice is a difficult one.
Bieschke has a long record of involvement in the village and his experience provides him with important expertise.
But we're intrigued by the constructive freshness of Felgenhauer's enthusiasm and ideas. He would add a younger perspective to the village board, but as a teammate, not a rebel.
It's a tough call. We like both candidacies. We endorse Felgenhauer.