Politics & Government
Lincolnwood Trustees Shift Gears for Mayoral Suport
April 9 Election leaves many combinations open to the next village board.
The race for mayor in Lincolnwood has had twists and turns over the past few months. Now, with the April 9 Election Day close at hand, it is curious – if not confusing – to see which trustee candidate is aligned with which mayoral aspirant.
The election chessboard began to move last fall when incumbent Mayor Jerry Turry said he would be stepping down after two terms. Turry then reversed his decision and is now seeking another term.
Turry is not getting the support of the two sitting members of the Lincolnwood Board of Trustees who are seeking another term. Current council members Larry Elster and John Swanson along with Demerise “Reese” Gratch (who is seeking to join the board) are running under the banner of the Independent Party of Lincolnwood.
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“After (Turry) resigned we formed our own party,” Elster said. “We were looking for more effective leadership in the village.”
Therefore, the Independent Party is supporting Georgia Talaganis, a retired school teacher who served one term as village clerk and has remained active with two other village boards.
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Another candidate looking to make a return to the top office is Peter Moy, who was appointed mayor in 2000 following the death of Madeleine Grant in 2000. Moy sought the office on his own in 2001 and served one full term through 2005.
Moy has the support of the Forward Vision Party, which has a trustee slate of Mira Mazur, Jennifer Spino and Martin Youkhanna.
Then there are the three independent (small in this case) candidates for trustee who do not have party backing at all.
Ron Cope, who served as village attorney for Lincolnwood endorses Turry’s bid to hold on to the office. “He’s been supporting us as independents and we’ve been supporting him as an independent.” Cope was village attorney when Turry was on the council.
Jean Ikezoe-Halevi also supports Turry for similar reasons to Cope, as she is concerned the other two mayoral candidates are supporting the other trustee slates, which she believes would hurt her own campaign.
But the third independent is taking a different position. Craig Klatzco is staying away from the mayor’s race. “I’m supporting for Craig Klatzco for trustee,” is all he would say.
Lincolnwood residents have the right to pick and choose any combination of mayoral candidates and trustees on Election Day.
A mayoral debate – sponsored by Skokie Patch – has now been moved and is scheduled for Village Hall on Thursday, March 28.
Please check the site tomorrow, Tuesday, March 19, for more details regarding the mayoral date change.
