Someone recently nudged me and asked where the blog has been and things must be quiet since I have not written much.
Quiet? Surely you can't be serious. I know, I am serious and don't call me Shirley.
But the village is a proverbial hotbed of political activity as we steam toward the April 5 election.
The village has two contested election -- one for a two-year term that features Andrew Stein and Denice (yes, Denice with a C) Bocek. Aside from a few signs, that campaign has been as intriguing as oatmeal -- with all respect to Quaker Oats.
But that's probably, not that is, a good thing because at least we are seeing some civility. The other contested race is between Village Clerk Jan Sirabian and Rob Sherman. Aside from Sherman's sexist and caustic remarks about Sirabian, this too has been a low keyed campaign.
The Daily Herald begrudgingly endorsed Sirabian. Its endorsement addressed two main issues -- the minutes and the now infamous missing tape of an executive session. While the missing tape is truly an unusual situation, the minutes are not. The Daily Herald seems to drudging up old news. If the minutes are so bad (which they are not if you check with other municipalities) why doesn't the Herald cite examples?
The Herald's focus on the minutes and tape, while somewhat valid, does take into consideration her years of service to the village, a fact brought out by former village manager Bill Brimm in a letter to the Herald in support of Sirabian. Brimm notes that "She advocates for what is best for Buffalo Grove, its residents and businesses." Whether you support Sirabian or not, Brimm's point is well taken -- public officials need to advocate for the residents. Sirabian, although not perfect, has done that for three decades.
On the other hand, Sherman, the Herald says, is "...a local gadfly whose biggest claims to fame have been his self-styled spokesmanship of American Atheists and being taken to court on charges of abusing his son." It also says "We’ve read Sherman’s account of Sirabian’s remarks in their meeting with our editorial board, and it makes us wonder: If he misrepresents that discussion, would we be able to trust the accuracy of his village board minutes?"
Both are good points.
The situation involving his son is, I would assume, a chapter Sherman would want to forget. Sherman has some interesting events in his past, as previously noted here, so a voter would have to wonder about his character. It's the trust factor residents need to consider, a fact the Herald raises in its endorsement of Sirabian. After the recent tumultuous times in the village, trust is important and hopefully both village officials and residents see the value of that.
The other election
Yes, Virginia, there is another election. For the folks north of Lake-Cook Road, the most interesting race is for the District 125 School Board. This one pits the "United 4 Stevenson" slate of Bruce Lubin, Merv Roberts, David Weisberg and Terry Moons against the "125 for 125" team of Kathy Powell, Kim Brady and Charles Cardella, a group which rips the other four for serving too long, but yet in its campaign material does not propose any solutions.
What the 125for125 gang does not tell you is what their public positions have been on things at Stevenson High School -- such as freedom of the press and diversity.
And that, my friends, will be the subject of my next blog. It is, however, important to remember two things: 1. All that glitters is not gold, and 2. As the old bumper sticker says -- the moral majority is neither.
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