Political newcomer touts CPA credentials, incumbent cites job performance in Lake County treasurer race
A political newcomer touting her experience as an accountant will face an incumbent running on her one-term record of transforming the office in the race for Lake County treasurer on Nov. 8.
Republican Paula McGuire of Green Oaks, a certified public accountant with 30 years' experience, said she has done exactly what the county treasurer is expected to do and done it competently.
"The office of treasurer should be held by an individual who is not only qualified to campaign but is also qualified to understand and oversee its daily operations," McGuire said in her Daily Herald questionnaire.
Incumbent Democrat Holly Kim said her background as a disrupter in the tech industry helped her shake up and improve the office to which she was elected in 2018. She cited the 2021 launch of electronic billing, which for the first time allowed property owners to view and pay their bills online with no fees.
Kim said that under her leadership the office temporarily allowed property owners to pay their taxes in four-installments to help relieve financial burdens caused by the pandemic.
"This option meant doubling the workload and created issues" such as having to operate in two fiscal years at once, Kim said. "But I was determined to help our residents."
McGuire said, if elected, her treasurer's office would be more customer service-minded. She said she would increase awareness of the office through newsletters, seminars and regular events like Coffee with the Treasurer.
"I will make myself readily available in a timely manner for the concerns of the residents, particularly seniors," McGuire said.
Kim said she has hosted more than 50 sessions on financial literacy, taxes and assessments as part of her effort to engage the public. She previously served as a Mundelein village trustee.
Kim defeated one-term incumbent David Stolman, a Buffalo Grove Republican, in 2018 as part of a blue wave that gave Democrats a board majority for the first time in Lake County history, as well as victories in the races for clerk and sheriff.