Patch Columnist Makes His Picks for Election 2013

Highland Park’s 2013 elections are just a few weeks away.

This year’s races don’t have the intensity of the last municipal election, owing to the lack of mayoral contest, but our votes are just as important in shaping the future.

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For Highland Park City Council, three seats are up for election. One replaces Steve Mandel, who now represents much of Highland Park on the Lake County board; another replaces James Kirsch, who is stepping down; the third represents Dan Kaufman’s current seat on the Council.

In my opinion, Kaufman deserves to be re-elected. It still feels to me like Kaufman is a reluctant politician, looking at his time on the Council primarily as altruistic civil service. Highland Park insiders frequently describe Kaufman as the “behind the scenes guy,” helping the Council and staff understand legal requirements and implications, and shaping the right legislation and policy. If indeed this is his role, then he is worthy of returning for another term.

Five candidates are vying for the other two seats. My awareness of two candidates comes primarily from lawn signs – Bob Crimo and William Dytrych. Dytrych has been on the Highland Park plan commission for several years, and I hear he does good work there. However, I haven’t heard much about his qualifications, positions, or even desire to be on the Council. Perhaps the 2013 run will set him up for a future candidacy. Crimo appears on a few signs around town, but thus far, not in real life – he hasn’t returned calls from Patch, didn’t show at the League of Women Voters, and has no website nor Facebook page. Clearly this is not a serious candidacy.

Carolyn Cerf is undertaking her second run for City Council. She has some interesting endorsements and strong supporters. However, I still don’t see a politician in her public presence. I see someone who believes in public service and in the City of Highland Park, but it is not clear that she fully understands the whole picture of challenges facing Highland Park.  For example, Cerf has been on the board of the Ravinia Neighbors Association throughout the controversy over Rosewood Beach. While I never saw Cerf take a position personally against the project or the interpretive center, by association she didn’t shut down the “war” that the RNA launched to try to stop the project, either. The non-position creates an awkward sense of whether or not she will indeed make the tough calls for Highland Park. Cerf’s value to Highland Park could and likely will be demonstrated on commissions and continued leadership in Ravinia, but now does not seem the right time for the Council.

That leaves Kim Stone and Alyssa Knobel, the two other candidates that I support.

Stone won my support on paper alone. I have not met her nor heard her speak. However, her stated positions on issues and beliefs are very clear and strong. Further, she has earned a tremendous amount of support across the community, including people who have been on opposite sides of political issues.  If she has this ability to be a unifying voice, then she deserves support.

Knobel shouldn’t have received my support. Though I was the first city writer to discover her planned candidacy, thus surprising no one, I had not expected to be on her side when the election came around. Perhaps, like other voters, I had concerns that she would simply be a second vote for Mayor Rotering’s positions.

In the last six months, though, Knobel has changed my opinion completely. She took an interest in an issue in my neighborhood, more than just superficially. Knobel actually dug in to the issue with city staff and elected officials, despite having no direct responsibility or connection. In the course of our interactions over that issue, I’ve come to find that Knobel has tremendous passion for improving Highland Park, both for residents and businesses. She also – this needs to be said – doesn’t always agree with Rotering, and I don’t expect to see a Councilman Knobel simply rubber-stamp the Mayor’s positions.

There are also contests for District 112, District 113 and the Park District. I haven’t fully investigated these races quite yet, so I won’t run through full positions on them. For District 112, I’m happy to see Paul Tatelli is caucus-endorsed this time. Cal Bernstein deserves re-election to the Park District board.

For District 113, I am less-concerned about individual board members than I am about electing a board that will hold the administration accountable. At the League of Women Voters presentation of the candidates, one question was whether or not the candidates for D113 would support a forensic audit. From what I have heard over the last couple of years, this is very much needed in the district. Regardless of the outcome of the referendum – which I predict will pass – the administration still needs to run the district properly on a day-to-day basis, and not hide from FOIA requests and constituents.

Election day is April 9. Be sure to vote!

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