Endorsement: David Brummel for Warrenville mayor
David Brummel is going for his fifth 4-year term as the mayor of Warrenville, and talking to him is talking to a humble, small-town mayor who could chat about every street and maybe even every resident, as well as talking to the steward of the city who knows every building and business.
Indeed, Warrenville is a smaller suburb that is, in a way, torn between its small town charm and expanding city needs.
Brummel talks of making the most of the suburb's access to open space, if not in town then nearby in the DuPage County forest preserves, while he also talks of the need to draw tax-generating businesses especially along Route 59. He is having to strike a balance between residents' demand for quiet neighborhoods and others' demand to keep taxes down and redevelop eyesores, like the old, polluted gas station at Warrenville and Batavia roads.
Not everyone agrees with the city's purchase of the station or even the TIF districts the city has had. We assume that's the case for Michael Hoffmann, who has challenged Brummel twice for the mayor's seat and himself served a term as alderman, often challenging the city's support of housing or mixed-use developments. He has not responded to the Daily Herald's inquiries. He first got involved in city politics over flooding issues and, soon, to fight taxes and to ensure, he said, residents could be heard.
But we do see Brummel reaching out to residents and certainly keeping all facets of the city on his mind constantly, and he is easily endorsed.