6 Vie For 3 Spots on Winnetka Village Board

WINNETKA, IL - Six candidates seek three open seats on the Winnetka Village Council on Election Day Tuesday, March 15.

Clear lines have been drawn as the race unfolds.

The Winnetka Caucus has endorsed Louise Holland, Penfield (Penny) Lanphier and Christopher Rintz. The Winnetka Homewowners Association is backing the three “Independent” candidates, Dr. Marilyn Prodromos, Carol Fessler and Kristin Ziv.

The Caucus is a 101-year-old system of government in Winnetka in which community members are invited to a meeting where candidates are selected. The Caucus endorsed Holland, Lanphier and Rintz at a meeting back in November.

Holland - a commercial retail center shopping developer - has spent nine years on the Village Council, including four as Village President. She said she has never turned a 'deaf-ear' to the concerns of Winnetkans.

"I have not ever made decisions without a careful by in of the Village, she said on YourWinnetka.org, the website for the Caucus-endorsed candidates.

Lanphier was on the Council for four years and co-authored the 2020 Plan, which guides residential and business land use decisions.

According to her YourWinnetka profile, she offers "extensive experience and training in municipal decision-making."

Rintz - a town-center developer - has also served four years on the Council. Among his accomplishments are taking an active role in negotiating a favorable collective bargaining agreement for the Winnetka police.

On the “Independent” side, Prodromos and Fessler are incumbents. Incumbent Council representative Stuart McCrary is not seeking re-election.

The “Independents” describe themselves as “candidates for Village Council committed to empowering the voters of Winnetka to directly elect their Village officials.”

They are strong proponents of open elections and have openly criticized the Caucus process.

“People are done with the drama and dysfunction of the caucus. I am too,” Prodromos wrote on the party’s website.

“The caucus has lost its credibility and relevancy,” added Fessler. “It has failed to inspire a new generation of Village leaders. And its platform has become a tool for obstructing progress on Winnetka’s pressing issues and promote hidden agendas.”

Ziv says that with so much at stake in terms of quality of life and property values, “voters deserve a direct say in their future.”

“Winnetka needs open, Democratic elections,” she said.

Representatives from the Caucus claim that Prodromos, Fessler and Ziv have all refused to be considered by or participate in the Caucus process.

2016 Caucus chair Wally Greenough, in a letter submitted to Patch, defended the system for its openness, arguing that there is no need for a change and that the Caucus has worked for years.

“The Caucus organizes Town Meetings in the Spring and Fall where members of each Board discuss these issues and answer questions from all residents who attend,” Greenough wrote. “These meetings foster feedback and accountability between our officials and our residents. Without the Caucus, these valuable meetings would not take place.”

Ziv, in a letter to the Daily North Shore, referred to the Caucus as “a medieval process” and touted the work of the other two non-Caucus candidates for their work on the Village Board.

“Prodromos and Fessler have been in the public eye for nearly two years as sitting trustees,” Ziv wrote. “They have excellent records that voters can judge for themselves.”

On her own candidacy, Ziv states she has “a long history of service to this community and have knocked on the doors of over 1,000 Winnetka households, opening myself up to any questions voters care to ask.”

New terms for Village Trustees will begin on April 1.