Sussman Ahead in Tight Race for Buffalo Grove Village President

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — Buffalo Grove voters headed to the polls Tuesday to make their picks for several local races. In the race for the village president post, incumbent Beverly Sussman squared off against former Village Board Trustee Mike Terson. And in a packed race for three open village board seats, nine candidates squared off.

Sussman appeared to be headed to a second term with 51.4 percent of the vote total as of Wednesday afternoon in the close race, according to preliminary results. Sussman brought in 2,492 votes as of Wednesday afternoon and Terson garnered 2,340 votes.

Late Tuesday night, Sussman had some harsh words regarding social media's role on the campaign.

"I feel social media played a very big part in this race -- a very negative part," she told the Daily Herald. In particular, she blamed comments made by from former village president Jeffrey Braiman, who endorsed Terson.

" ... his comments were disgusting and untrue," she said.

Sussman and Terson served together on the village board from 2011 to 2015 before Terson lost his re-election bid in 2015. During that election, Sussman ran successfully for the village president post. Sussman told the Buffalo Grove Countryside she first decided to run for village board president because she did not think local officials were engaging enough with local residents.

Sussman was first elected to the village board in 2009 and has lived in Buffalo Grove since 1971.

“In a municipality you have to have engagement,” Sussman told the newspaper. “People should be part of the decision making process. We have brought citizen engagement to the village. We found new ways for people to give feedback.”

Terson, a public relations and marketing manager for the Buffalo Grove Park District, had hoped to bring a “bolder” leadership to town. Both candidates agreed economic development should be a focus for local leadership and both wanted to see more mixed use development in town, according to the Buffalo Grove Countryside.

For Sussman, that means luring more businesses to town and focusing on offering incentives and tax property tax breaks when a buyer makes a move on the Town Center Shopping area at Lake Cook Road and Route 83. The current asking price is $20 million, according to the newspaper report. Other priorities for Sussman in her second term include infrastructure and meeting pension obligations.

During their campaign, Terson and Sussman butted heads over past rejected proposals for ways to redevelop the Buffalo Grove Golf Club, according to the Daily Herald.

In addition to the village president race, the village board had a crowded mix of candidates with nine vying for three open seats. Two incumbents, Eric N. Smith and David Weidenfeld, and newcomer Gregory S. Pike, Jr., lead the race, according to unofficial results.