Endorsement for Hanover Park village board: Fanny Lopez Benitez, Herb Porter, Roberto Sepulveda

The upcoming Hanover Park village board election presents something of a dilemma for the voters and, for that matter, for us.

On the April 2 ballot for three trustee positions on the board are stalwart incumbents James Kemper, Jon Kunkel and Herb Porter and intriguing challengers Fanny Lopez Benitez and Roberto Sepulveda.

Kemper, Kunkel and Porter are aligned with Mayor Rodney Craig, who is endorsing their slate. Lopez Benitez and Sepulveda are running as a Together for Hanover Park slate. They say they don't consider themselves opponents of Craig and are committed to working with him if elected. Complicating things further, Sepulveda is the husband of longtime Hanover Park Village Clerk Eira Corral Sepulveda.

We like Craig and we agree for the most part with the direction he and the board are taking Hanover Park. A big part of that direction is its marketing of the suburb as "America's Global Village."

As one of the Northwest suburbs' more ethnically diverse communities, Hanover Park is all that. The community tends to be younger than many of its neighbors, with a substantial population of Hispanics, Asians and other so-called minorities.

Craig has done a good job over the years of reaching out proactively to these segments of the community. It's one of the things that has impressed us about him.

And largely because of his efforts, Hanover Park's village board includes solid minority representation.

But despite the size of the village's Hispanic community, it is not reflected in the voting membership of the board.

Thus, the dilemma.

We strongly support Craig's leadership and the progress Hanover Park has made under his watch. But this election also offers Hanover Park two Hispanic candidates with impressively strong credentials and skills. Lopez Benitez is a public policy expert and community organizer who would bring a fresh perspective to the board. Sepulveda is a civically engaged independent with clear leadership skills.

Can they be brash? Yes, but they say they will work with the board as a team, not as reflexive opposition.

We endorse both. And we endorse Porter, an aggressive consensus builder with a strong business background, for the third seat up for election.

It is, as we say, a dilemma. Kemper and Kunkel are solid trustees and supportive members of Craig's team. We like them.

But we believe Lopez Benitez, Porter and Sepulveda are the more dynamic choices.