Next April’s municipal election will be unusual for Lake Bluff residents, as they’ll likely see a contested race for the village presidency.
The rare occurrence is a byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the 2021 municipal elections set for April 6, Lake Bluff voters will select candidates for the village presidency, village Board of Trustees, village clerk, the Lake Bluff Park District and the Lake Bluff Library Board. There are also races for Lake Bluff District 65 school board and the traditional two seats held by Lake Bluff residents set aside on the Lake Forest High School board.
In previous years, Vote Lake Bluff conducted an open town meeting in early December. At that forum, candidates made their case in front of the voter service organization for why they want the office. That would then lead to a vote from those in attendance, with the top vote-getters receiving the support of the organization.
Customarily, the Vote Lake Bluff endorsement was a major steppingstone toward election as its slate was rarely challenged.
However, the open meeting was not an option in 2020.
“This year we couldn’t do that because of the pandemic,” acknowledged organization spokeswoman Robin Huszagh.
Without the open meeting, Vote Lake Bluff used an alternative method to collect signatures to get candidate names on the ballot.
In November, 60 to 70 cars drove through the village where Vote Lake Bluff volunteers asked drivers to sign the paperwork, according to Neil Dahlmann, the organization’s chairman of the administrative committee.
Dahlmann was happy with the participation.
“We had more people come out and sign the petitions than we ever expected,” Dahlmann said.
Current village trustees William Meyer and Regis Charlot both collected enough signatures to get on the April ballot as candidates for village president. Incumbent Kathleen O’ Hara is stepping down next spring after serving the traditional two four-year terms.
It is unclear the last time there was a contested race to become the village’s top elected official in the general election, but Dahlmann was happy with the prospect.
“I think it is wonderful that we have two superb candidates for the voters to have an option to choose from,” Dahlmann said. “They are both very good people.”
Voters will also face decisions for the village’s library board as five candidates have collected the required number of signatures for four available positions.
Earlier in the month, a very fluid situation appeared possible as Vote Lake Bluff had a series of vacancies listed on its website for several boards. However, a search to locate candidates willing to run was mostly successful as there are now only two vacancies listed, both for seats on the park board.
For those two park board seats, Huszagh said the organization is attempting to reach out to residents through email and social media to get them to run before the Dec. 21 filing deadline enacted by Lake County.
Huszagh conceded getting candidates to run is not easy, especially this year.
“It really takes a unique individual who is going to put forward so much personal time and commitment for a voluntary position,” she said. “COVID has made it exponentially more difficult.”
Candidates could start filing their petitions Dec. 14, with the window open for through the Dec. 21, according to the Lake County clerk’s office.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.
