7 Candidates Running For 3 Seats On Glenview Village Board

GLENVIEW, IL — For the first time since 2001, Glenview residents have two full slates of candidates competing for their votes to fill three open seats on the village board in municipal elections April 2, 2019.

Seven candidates are running for the three of the village board's six seats will be on the ballot, as of an hour before Monday's deadline for candidates for the Glenview Village Board and Glenview Library Board to submit nominating petitions. The candidates include only one incumbent, who seeks a third term in office with the Citizens for Glenview Slate.

Trustee Philip O.C. White has not filed paperwork to run again. He was appointed to the board in 2005 and was subsequently elected three times. Trustee Scott Britton has resigned after winning a seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioner's representing the 14th District.

Citizens for Glenview nominated the following trio of candidates:

Mary Cooper has lived in Glenview for 30 years. She has more than 25 years of experience in the consumer products field and has served as a board member, fundraiser and volunteer for local organizations such as Wagner Farm, where she is the co-chair of the building and grounds committee, Operation Warm, Glenview schools and her church, according to the organization.

Chuck Gitles has served on the Glenview School District 30 board for 12 years, spending the last four years as its president. A banker most of his career, he is currently a senior vice president with First Bank of Highland Park. According to the organization, he graduated from Glenbrook North and has lived in the village since 2002 with his wife and three children, an eighth grader, a Glenbrook South sophomore and a college freshman.

Trustee Mike Jenny has served as a village trustee since 2011. He is an investment banker with Livingstone Partners, where he focuses on the metal industries. He has served as a member of a subcommittee for the Glenview Credit Union board and is an active member of his Glenview church.

The slate's candidates pledge to represent all constituents and not to focus on single issues. The group intends to "maintain quality services and financial stability," manage development proactively and keep the village a "great place to live and work." The trio was selected by a large and diverse group of Glenview residents after interviews with prospective nominees, according to the group.

A new party is challenging the Citizens for Glenview caucus. A slate of candidate from the Better Government in Glenview Party said it had filed 450 signatures of voters. Announcing its slate of candidates, the party said it was committed to listening to residents' concerns, ensuring fiscal responsiblity, supporting responsible development and promoting transparency, according to the group.

Tom Greenhaw is the founder of a retail software company and sustainability advocate who has served as a board member of Friends of the Forest Preserves and a committee member for the conservation nonprofit Openlands. In a release, he said he would ensure tax dollars would be spent wisely.

"Between embarrassing news reports about the village's spending, losing taxpayer dollars on the Bess Hardware land deal and dithering when it comes to voters' overwhelming support for Cook County ordinances providing sick leave and an increased minimum wage to workers," Greenhaw said. "It is clear something must change."

Dia Morgan is an attorney who has lived in Glenview since 2002. She has represented clients who provide social services to those most in need and currently serves as general counsel for a company that provides a variety of behavioral health and suicide prevention services. Morgan is also a member of Alliance of Therapy Dogs, League of Women Voters in Glenview/Glencoe and Indivisible Glenview. Announcing her candidacy, she said she felt strongly that village leadership should reflect the diversity of its residents more closely.

“The same political party has controlled Glenview’s Board of Trustees since 2001. Since that time only three women have served on the Village Board of Trustees," Morgan said. "Currently, nearly 83 percent of the positions on the village board and Glenview’s various commissions are held by men."

Cathy Wilson has been a Glenview resident since moving to Glenview in 1994. After teaching Spanish and coaching several sports, she became the vice president of marketing for an educational technology startup. She has also been a leader in Indivisible Glenview, a volunteer for several political campaign, an organizer of rallies in Glenview for national causes and a member of the League of Women Voters in Glenview/Glencoe. In a release, Wilson said giving voters a choice is a good thing for Glenview after 18 years of one-party rule.

"We need to work together to build an environment that supports a vibrant business community, to maintain a safe, healthy and welcoming place for all residents and to manage our finances and growth with great care," Wilson said.

An independent candidate has also filed paperwork to run in the race, according to a village spokesperson.

Benjamin Matthew Polony is 19-year-old public policy student at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has served as a field office manager for Sen. Mark Kirk and as an intern with the villages of Northbrook and Schaumburg over the past two summers. His campaign cited bipartisan support and said it would provide avenues for political awareness through face-to-face conversations with voters.

“I am young, energized and willing to go door-to-door to speak with residents directly about issues affecting them,” Polony said in a release announcing his campaign Monday. He collected more than 290 signatures and presented them at village hall Monday morning.

Three candidates have filed paperwork to run for three seats on the Glenview Library Board of Trustees. Incumbents board president Allan Ruter and M. David Johnson are both running. They will be joined by Thomas N. Blanchard, who is running for the seat of vice-president John Miller, who has not filed nominating petitions to run for re-election.

Village President Jim Patterson has until the end of January 2019 to name a temporary replacement for Britton's seat, who will serve until May, according to the Glenview Announcements.

The village will hold a lottery on Dec. 26 to determine the ballot position for all candidates who filed their nominating paperwork on the first day of party candidate petition filing on Dec. 10. Early voting starts on March 18 ahead of the April 2 election.