Endorsements: Sabatino, Talluto for Elmhurst City Council
The candidates for City Council in Elmhurst agree the city is well run, manages its money efficiently, has worked hard to address flooding and infrastructure issues and is guarding against problems that could arise if it doesn't keep close watch on its employee-pension obligations.
Such circumstances speak well for incumbent candidates in contested races and we are confident in the candidacies of Mark Sabatino in Ward 1 and Noel Talluto in Ward 4. Both are completing their first terms on the board, and they demonstrate the commitment, energy and insight from experience that would serve them well in a second term.
Yet, we don't want to discount too quickly their challengers. In Ward 1, Elizabeth Ambrogi, 44, an executive assistant with a medical research company and a board member of the Annie LeGere Foundation, has done her homework on city government and poses the opportunity for a feisty but positive challenger to the status quo. Mark Anglewicz, 39, president of the U.S. operation of an international tire manufacturing company, has a master's degree in public administration, serves on the city's Economic Development Commission and speaks with insight and authority on city business. He is a particularly competitive alternative for the Ward 4 seat.
But in the end, the incumbents display a sophisticated understanding of city affairs and city council governance that can only come from active personal experience. They should take care not to dismiss the challengers' concerns about insularity on the council, but ultimately Sabatino, 52, a commercial real estate executive with a long history of involvement in city government, and Talluto, 43, who brings a University of Michigan MBA and experience with the Elmhurst City Centre, the League of Women Voters and numerous church and youth sports leadership roles, demonstrate independence and openness to debate that bode continued success for them in representing their wards and the city on the whole.
We endorse Mark Sabatino in Ward 1 and Noel Talluto in Ward 4 for re-election to the Elmhurst City Council.