Endorsements: Kelly, Longenbaugh, Trendler and Jaiswal for Naperville City Council

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

In one of the most competitive municipal races in DuPage County this election cycle, 11 candidates are running for four seats on the Naperville City Council.

After speaking with all the candidates, hearing them talk about the issues and researching their backgrounds, we find each one to be impressive. It was not easy to narrow our choices.

We start by looking at experience. Patrick Kelly, the lone incumbent in the race, has been a good board member during his first term on the council.

Kelly is an attorney who has sought to collaborate with his elected colleagues and others to find solutions. He says he believes in giving residents more of a voice in local government. He also says Naperville's finances are strong and he wants to keep the city on a positive path.

We endorse Kelly to return to his seat.

Next, we endorse Allison Longenbaugh, a vice president at J.P. Morgan who serves as a Naperville Public Library trustee. She has more than 30 years of corporate experience and knows how to work with diverse departments to increase efficiency and save costs.

Longenbaugh has shown a commitment to following what's going on in Naperville. She has regularly attended City Council meetings for years and provides live commentary and summaries on social media. All that knowledge of previous board decisions would help her hit the ground running as a council member. She would do the research needed to make informed decisions.

We also endorse Jodi Trendler, executive director of The Resiliency Institute in Naperville.

Trendler has been focusing on the issue of sustainability for the past 15 years. She also initiated and led the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force.

As a result of her previous efforts, Trendler has experience bringing people together and getting things done. She's worked with the city council and local taxing bodies to address issues and develop programs. She understands the importance of collaboration.

For the fourth council seat, we endorse Nag Jaiswal.

Jaiswal, a senior program architect, says his primary focus would be to make decisions that protect property values in Naperville. In addition, he says he would push to control spending to keep local government costs as affordable as possible for taxpayers.

He has several ideas when it comes to encouraging economic growth. For example, Jaiswal says Naperville should incentivize innovation and minimize the barriers to entry for new businesses.

Also running are Rebecca Malotke-Meslin, Josh McBroom, Nathan "Nate" Wilson, Ashfaq Sayed, Meghna Bansal, Ashley South and Madhu Uppal. But the combination that offers the strongest potential for maintaining Naperville's successful traditions is Kelly, Longenbaugh, Trendler and Jaiswal.