What Motivates Those Who Want to Kill the Caucus?

The following letter was written and submitted by Wally Greenough, Winnetka Caucus Chair.

A small group with a large megaphone -- the so-called Winnetka Homeowner’s Association (“WHOA”) and the three candidates it supports for Village Trustee -- is calling for the abolishment of the Winnetka Caucus Council, a non-partisan organization that has served our Village well for more than 100 years.

WHOA says the Caucus is “obsolete, unrepresentative and biased.” The candidates it endorses for Village Trustee say the Caucus is “undemocratic, non-inclusive and non-transparent.” You can judge the merit of those claims by comparing the Caucus to WHOA.

 All members of the Caucus Council are identified on its website. Most serve for only two years; no more than half a dozen serve for three years. This turnover ensures new faces and fresh ideas. Anyone who would like to join can sign up on the website: www.winnetkacaucus.org.

 The Caucus always publicizes vacancies for the Parks, Schools, Library and Village Boards in local newspapers, on its website, and by e-mail. It encourages all residents either to nominate themselves or someone else they think would be a good candidate. Caucus members then contact everyone nominated and encourage them to interview.

 This year, Caucus members encouraged more than 80 people to interview for Village Trustee. The WHOA candidates refused to interview. The Caucus candidates – Louise Holland, Penny Lanphier and Chris Rintz – agreed to be interviewed, and they later appeared at the Town Meeting in November to answer all questions asked of them by any resident (including a question from one of the WHOA candidates). After hearing what Holland, Lanphier and Rintz had to say, the residents at the meeting voted publicly and overwhelmingly to approve them as the Caucus candidates.

By comparison,

 WHOA does not have a public website, and it does not identify its members. It has been controlled by just two people -- Ann Dillon and Carry Buck -- for more than 20 years.

 WHOA does not disclose how it selects or endorses candidates. It does not reach out to the entire community to find candidates. It rarely deals with candidates for the Parks, Schools or Library Boards, despite the importance of those Boards to the welfare of our Village.

 The three WHOA candidates for Village Trustee simply selected themselves. As a result, they are free to pursue private agendas, accountable to no one.

The WHOA candidates certainly have the right to run for election without going through the Caucus process. But if they don’t like that process, then they should work to improve it, not destroy it.

It is the Caucus process that nominated almost every current and past member of the Schools, Parks and Library Boards. It is that process that nominated past Village Presidents Gwen Trindl, Louise Holland, Michael Duhl, Ed Woodbury, and Jessica Tucker. The process works: every one of these candidates was elected to their position by vote of the entire Village, and without the acrimony and expense permeating the current election.

The Caucus also provides guidance to our Village leaders by preparing platforms concerning current issues facing the Schools, Parks and Library Boards and the Village Trustees. The platforms have no hidden agendas; they are based on the results of the annual survey of all residents, and they are subject to approval by vote at the Fall Town Meeting. The Caucus survey costs the taxpayers nothing, yet the WHOA candidates would replace it with one drafted by the very trustees it is supposed to inform, and which this year cost the taxpayers $30,000 even though matters before the Schools, Parks and Library Boards were not included.

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

There are many important issues facing our Village for the candidates to debate. The existence of the Caucus should not be one of them.

Wally Greenough