Four of the five contenders for a seat on the Park Forest Village Board were on hand Sunday at the second village candidate forum, answering written questions from a large crowd of nearly 50 residents.
Three people were missing.
Trustee hopeful Randall White was not there and when reached by telephone after the event said he was suffering from a severe sinus infection. Trustee Joe Woods, who is seeking to become village mayor, did not take part in the question and answer session since his one-time opponent, incumbent Mayor Jonathon Vanderbilt, startled the electorate by dropping out of the race last week.
While Woods was limited to displaying his handouts and badges in the lobby, Trustee Tiffani Graham and hopefuls Andy Gladstone, John Moore and Joshua Travis responded to written questions from the audience.
Because this forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Park Forest Area, permitted candidates to answer queries but did not allow rebuttals, there seemed little difference among responses.
There was common ground when asked to name the three top issues of concern, all named crime and public safety.
Each had specific interests.
Travis, at 27 the youngest of the four, voiced support for more educational opportunities, more independent village commissions and a regional coalition with neighboring communities.
Moore called for a “revitalization” of the downtown area, urging more support for businesses so openings and closing of stores did not go hand in hand.
Graham, who has been a trustee for a decade, touted her plan to enclose the village’s Aqua Center, thus turning a three-month summer window into a year-around destination, as well as the village’s youth job fair and free school supplies program for children.
Gladstone, who was a village trustee in the 1990s, said both Park Forest and neighboring south suburban communities are too often left out of economic development and that it was time to change the future for village residents.
Graham’s candidacy, along with the exit of sitting Trustee Candyce Herron and Woods’ decision to run for mayor, leaves three trustee seats available for the five hopefuls. The final candidate forum, this one sponsored by Park Forest Cooperative Housing, will be held on Sunday, March 19.
Chip Young, the interim director of the Non-Partisan Committee, which oversees these forums, said he expects Woods, the lone mayoral candidate, to be part of the discussion. This election will mark the first time in 20 years there will not be a contested race for mayor.
Yet the declaration by Vanderbilt, a lifelong Park Forest resident, not to seek reelection still echoed in the crowded room. First elected as a trustee in 2017, he won the mayoral race two years later in a close battle against then-Trustee Mae Brandon. In announcing his decision, Vanderbilt said he was spurred by both his family obligations and his commitment to his job. If he was reelected, “I would have less, not more time to spend with my family,” he said.
In the six years he served the village, Vanderbilt said his father and father-in-law both died, leaving him the only adult male figure in the family.
Vanderbilt and his wife, Kathleen, have three boys, all under age 8.
“I want to coach my boys’ sports teams; not sit on the sidelines on the phone,” he said, adding he has “given the residents 110% for his time in public life.”
But his business, the Mr. Fourth of July Construction Company, keeps him away from Park Forest. The odd business name also seems logical because along with structure work it also operates fireworks displays in season. His recent work schedule has intruded on his public persona. He has not attended a board meeting since early January and his last public appearance was the Fire Department’s annual award ceremony early this month.
Almost as soon as he announced his decision, his social media site included numerous tributes to him along with full-color displays trumpeting the candidacies of both Travis and White. Both, however, strongly denied they were the authors of the posts.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
