Unofficial Results: Jim Moran Wins Seat as Trustee

Unofficial voting results show that newcomer Jim Moran will likely win a seat on the Libertyville Village Board.

Four candidates vied for the three four-terms open for the election.

Moran received the highest number of votes with 896 votes. Donna Johnson received 807 votes. Drew Cullum received 805 votes. Nick Proepper lost his reelection bid and received 711 votes.

Provisional ballots and late arriving vote by mail ballots are not included in the total.

“My win tonight represents the voice of village residents, they voted for issues,” said Moran, 34 and a life-long resident of Libertyville. “Tonight they voted for the issues that I represent; the other village board members need to recognize that.”

Moran says the big issues he would like to address are running a more efficient government, more government transparency and better utilization of online resources so village residents can have access to more information.

“Libertyville has a long way to come to getting up on offering basic services online,” Moran said.

As trustee Moran would like to see the elimination of Libertyville’s utility tax when it is up for renewal in 2012. He says the village enacted the ordinance as an emergency stop-gap to deal with a drop in sales tax revenue, but believes that by 2012 the village should be able to relieve residents of this additional financial burden.

“By 2012, the village will have had four years to adjust operations and spending,” Moran wrote on his campaign Web site.

Mayor Terry Weppler congratulated Moran at his election party.  

“I didn’t know who would win tonight, but I knew the village wins when we have four good candidates,” Weppler said. “I’m going to miss Nick (Proepper) as a trustee because he was open and honest.”

Incumbent Sad to See Proepper Defeated

Johnson, who won her reelection bid, says she was disappointed to see Proepper defeated.

"Nick has a business background and acumen. In this current time and with the budget it would have been good to have his experience on the board," Johnson said. "Overall, I’m happy that voters had confidence in me and showed a willingness to support me in my reelection bid and I look forward to serving village.”

During an interview on Wednesday, Johnson says she hopes Moran will realize that serving on the board, "is not as easy as it looks on the outside."

"It’s unfortunate that going in to a healthy competition that someone would make statements that question the level of commitment of other people," Johnson said. "The challenge I give him is that before he criticizes the incumbents; first attend budget meetings. There were two and he was not present at either one."

Johnson added that even though every citizen has a right to endorse a candidate, she found it interesting that the electronic sign out side The endorsed Moran for trustee.

"Interesting enough he was unhappy with all of the people that didn’t think it was proper to have an 80-foot flagpole," Johnson said. "I think that this is one of his effort to move the issue forward and I think he will bring it back again."

In February, the village board denied a request for a 70-foot flag pole by Roch Tranel, president of the Tranel Financial Group.

Fresh Perspective

Moran supporters, however, say they are looking forward to a new perspective on the village board.

“Moran will bring a fresh set of eyes when he’s looking at the budget, plus he really cares about transparency,” said Walt Oakley, a 40-year Libertyville resident.

Oakley is also looking forward to Moran sharing village information with residents online.

“It would involve less printing and result in cost reduction,” Oakley said. “Plus it would cut down on the stack of paper that’s handed out at each board meeting.”

Libertyville resident John Snow says it’s a great feeling to see residents show support for Moran.

“It’s meaningful that Jim was the number one vote captain,” John Snow said, “He didn’t just get elected—he pulled a substantial number of votes.”