In the first committeeperson race since Keith Pekau lost his bid for reelection as Orland Park mayor, two candidates face off in hopes of directing how the Republican Party moves forward in Orland Township.
Orland Park Village Trustee Cynthia Katsenes is not seeking reelection as Republican committeeperson, an unpaid political seat, leaving it open to either former committeeperson Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman or Orland Township Board member Kenneth Duffy in the March 17 primary.
Political division seen across party lines has carried over into the committeeperson race, with Pekau among those attacking Doody Gorman’s past leadership and urging voters to elect Duffy.
“When Liz Gorman was the Republican committeeman, she attacked Republican candidates, backed Democrats and undermined party unity,” Pekau wrote in a social media post Feb. 27. “That’s not leadership — it’s sabotage.”
Pekau wrote that “if you believe the party should actually support Republicans, this race matters. Vote Ken Duffy.”
Meanwhile, Doody Gorman says Duffy is a “Pekau puppet” who has negatively affected township operations in his short time as board member.
In addition to the committeeperson role, Doody Gorman is running unopposed in the Republican primary for the Cook County Board 17th district seat, as incumbent Sean Morrison steps down. Doody Gorman held the position from 2002 until 2019, when Morrison was sworn in.
She also was executive director of the Illinois Tollway from 2018 to 2019.
Doody Gorman said she is running for committeeperson in part due to political division sowed on social media, including by Pekau.
“It’s just all negative — there’s nothing positive out there,” she said, adding during the campaign, “all they can do is diminish and distort my record, because they have nothing to run on.”
As committeeperson, Doody Gorman says she would look to find candidates who “understand Orland and the issues” while raising money to help them be successful. She said she supports requiring people show government identification before they are allowed to vote and freezing local taxes and fees.
At the same time, Doody Gorman hopes to work with area leaders, including Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge. Doody Gorman said as she hopes to make a return as committeeperson, she has received positive feedback while lobbying for support outside the polls during early voting.
“People know my family, people know my sons. And I’m proud of that — having raised a family, having those deep roots in the community, and having access to be able to tap into good people to run for office,” Doody Gorman said, pointing out that Duffy only recently moved to the township.
Duffy grew up in Park Forest and said he moved to Orland Park about four years ago. He said under Doody Gorman’s leadership, the party organization “fizzled out,” which Katsenes revived.
“Now, there’s a lot of people that are involved and a lot of people are active,” Duffy said.
However, Duffy said there’s still much work to be done to ensure solid Republican candidates are on the ballot during every election, which would be his first priority upon entering office.
“The people that are in there now, they’re not real big on asking for money and raising money, and that’s a big responsibility of the organization. So I would be making a significant stride in raising funds so that when people do run for office, we have some financial backing for them,” Duffy said.
Katsenes endorsed Duffy and said in a statement he has been active and helpful as she led the Republican organization. She said she is not seeking reelection as she wants to spend more time with her grandchildren.
Duffy said he’s proud of what he’s accomplished as township trustee, including voting in favor of ending the lease of the Illinois Secretary of State motor vehicle office in the township offices.
Two months later, a new drivers facility was opened within Communities Transform Futures, or CTF Illinois, a nonprofit organization that offers day programs to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
“We knew without any doubt that they would open up another location nearby that would be bigger and full service … and that’s exactly what happened,” Duffy said.
Doody Gorman criticized the move, saying the former location “was a really nice spot to go for the local folks and seniors” and led people who came to the motor vehicle office from outside the community to spend money at nearby restaurants and shops.
“This is just something that Pekau wanted out,” Doody Gorman said. “But (Duffy) never got the bigger picture, because he became so political.”
Duffy said while he aligns with Pekau on issues including fiscal responsibility, his leadership style is different. He believes Pekau lost his mayoral race because of remarks suggesting that Arab Americans who support a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza can “go to another country” if they disagree with U.S. policy.
“I’m a huge supporter of the Arab community,” Duffy said.
He said he supports local school boards implementing Arabic as a world language, as has been discussed by the Orland High School District 230 board over the past two months. Several board members maintain several barriers remain to starting the curriculum and say it is the board’s job to approve, not propose, curriculum.
Like Doody Gorman, Duffy said he is able to work across the aisle, maintaining a friendly relationship with Dodge and other local leaders.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
