Kim among many candidates to fill open seat on Mundelein board
Former Mundelein mayoral candidate and former Trustee Holly Kim is among the people expressing interest in the village board seat that opened this week when Dakotah Norton resigned.
So is another unsuccessful mayoral hopeful, local business owner Ray Ladewig.
Mundelein planning and zoning commission leader Scott Black, who placed fifth in the race for three seats on the village board in April's election, would like the job, too.
And they've got a lot of competition.
Mayor Steve Lentz, who ultimately will nominate someone for the post, said the number of people being considered for the seat is "into the double digits and is growing."
Lentz confirmed Kim, Ladewig and Black are among those who've inquired about the job. He declined to identify any others.
Norton resigned Monday, hours before the board was scheduled to decide whether to remove him from office because of poor attendance at board meetings. Norton hadn't been to a meeting since March 27 and had been mostly incommunicative with village hall in the past three months.
It's up to Lentz to nominate a replacement and for the village board to approve the appointment. The new trustee will serve until the term expires in spring 2019.
Kim lost the mayor's race to Lentz by five votes. She had been elected to the village board in 2013 and opted to run for mayor instead of seeking a second term as trustee.
She said she and Lentz ran positive campaigns this spring and has no problems working with him again.
"I'm qualified by professional experience (and) civic participation and carry a different perspective as someone of multiple demographic differences from the other board members," she said.
After leaving the board in May, Kim landed a $60,000-a-year job as Vernon Township's director of constituent affairs. She said she would continue in that role if appointed to the village board and doesn't see a conflict of interest.
Ladewig said he called Lentz and expressed interest in the post when the concerns about Norton became public.
"This is something that I'd really like to do," he said.
Ladewig finished a distant third in the April mayor's race. He formerly served on the planning commission but was fired by the village board in 2015 after he publicly criticized economic development efforts in town and the staff responsible for them.
Ladewig said that controversy is "history."
Black has served on the planning commission for 21 years, the last 10 as its chairman. He said that experience makes him "uniquely qualified" to fill the board vacancy.
"Mundelein is on the very cusp of some exciting changes, particularly in regards to downtown redevelopment, and I plan on helping to implement them," Black said.
Black campaigned with Lentz ahead of the April election, although they weren't on a formal slate together.
Mundelein residents interested in serving on the board should email Lentz by July 10 at slentz@mundelein.org. Candidates must be at least 18 years old and registered voters.
Lentz is especially interested in hearing from people who have volunteered in the community or on village projects.
"I'm most interested in their vision for Mundelein and the passion for our town they could bring to our board of trustees," he said.
Lentz said he hopes to present his nominee to the board for a vote July 24. Trustees will be able to meet and interview the candidate beforehand.