Oswego voters will fill three opens seats on the Village Board during Tuesday’s election.
Five candidates are vying for spots on the Village Board: incumbents Judy Sollinger, Pam Parr and Luis Perez, and challengers Brian Thomas and Donnie Soard.
The three other seats on the Village Board are not up for election.
Sollinger said she wasn’t pleased with the direction the village was headed under the previous administration and wants to continue the progress made in the past couple of years.
“We currently have a forward-thinking board who works together as a team and has a vision for the future. Our priorities include revitalizing our downtown, preserving our quality of life, keeping our property tax rate flat, protecting our environment and planning for the future,” she said.
She said economic development is a key to Oswego’s future growth.
“We constantly hear that property taxes should be our first concern, but I believe that in order to maintain a flat property tax rate, maintain our quality of life and plan for the future, economic development is vital,” she said.
Sollinger served two terms as Oswego village clerk, having been elected in 1985 and re-elected in 1989. Sollinger was appointed trustee in August 2007 to fill the remaining two years of an unexpired term. She was elected to four-year terms in 2009 and 2013.
Sollinger said she has resided in the “heart of old Oswego” with her husband, Rich, for nearly 50 years.
Parr has the second spot on the ballot. Parr was elected to the board in 2013 and is seeking her second four-year term. Parr previously served as a member of the Kendall County Board from 2002 through 2010. She is a 34-year resident of Oswego and a former business partner and founder of Fox Valley Trophy.
Parr said she wants to be part of the Village Board to continue the work that has been started.
“We are revitalizing our downtown, spurring economic development and constructing a new police station,” she said.
She said the village has held the property tax rate flat for a fifth consecutive year.
“It is an exciting, dynamic time for Oswego, and I want to continue the vision and planning needed to continue moving forward,” she said.
The Village Board in November authorized purchasing the 2.38-acre former Alexander Lumber site at Washington and Adams streets for $1.4 million. The village recently announced it has selected a developer interested in pursuing plans for a mixed-used residential and commercial project there. The plans will go through the village’s review process.
Parr said the village has made strides in the past two years and cannot afford to go back to the “philosophy of no” to economic growth, roads, public safety and amenities for residents.
“In the last two years we have accomplished so much as a board. We have set the groundwork for some exciting things. We have done things to kick-start economic development, and we have a Metra commuter station back on the radar,” she said.
Perez was appointed to the board in October 2015 to fill a vacancy and is seeking his first four-year term. Perez is employed by Ace Hardware as a corporate new-business channel manager.
Perez served on numerous Oswego School District 308 boards that addressed learning and growth. Perez said it’s crucial for the village to lay the groundwork to manage the village’s continued growth.
“Oswego is going to grow and is going to need a leadership team that will manage growth,” Perez said.
Perez said he wants to maintain the “wins” that have already been accomplished, such as the “proper long-term budgeting for a new police station and future growth and development of the downtown.”
He said the village has properly budgeted for information technology infrastructure improvements and has approved intergovernmental sharing of services with Yorkville to reduce costs. Perez said the village is proactively setting goals for the future expansion of Wolf’s Crossing Road.
Perez has resided in Oswego with his wife, Kathy, for 17 years. Together they are raising two school-age children.
Thomas said he would take a conservative approach to the village’s spending.
“Government can be good in a lot of ways, but the main problem with government is that it thinks it has an endless supply of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Thomas ran an unsuccessful bid for election to the board in 2015. Thomas said he would push to repeal the village’s three-quarters of 1 percent sales tax increase.
The Village Board approved the increase to fund the new police station and maintain road infrastructure.
“I am all for supporting our police,” he said. “But the interest and principal for a new facility will be astronomical. I’m not sure sales tax revenues will cover it.”
He is also critical of the village purchasing the former Alexander Lumber property and creating a downtown tax increment financing district to encourage redevelopment in the downtown.
“The village doesn’t need to get into the real estate business,” Thomas said.
“I am all for investors starting new businesses for a profit, but it shouldn’t be done with taxpayer dollars. There are people in the downtown that started businesses that didn’t get any assistance from a TIF district,” he said.
Thomas said he operates a family-owned restaurant and bar near Riverside. He and his wife, Lesley, have lived in Oswego for 10 years and are raising three young children.
Soard could not be reached for comment.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
