By Bob Seidenberg
Candidates in Evanston’s ward races are sporting endorsements from political leaders, current and former, as well as other less notables, as the race draws close to the April 1 election.
In the city’s First Ward, newcomer Stephen Hackney is listing current mayor Daniel Biss and former mayors Steve Hagerty, Elizabeth Tisdahl and James “Jay” Lytle, former Youth Opportunity United (YOU) founder Don Baker, philanthropist Marjorie Benton, former U.S. Magistrate Judge Morton Denlow, former Seventh Ward Alderperson Jane Grover, among backers on his website, hackney4first.com.
Clare Kelly, the incumbent council member, meanwhile, is featuring testimonials on her site (clarekellyfirst.org) from former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, housing policy expert Gail Schechter (running for the village board in Skokie), longtime civil rights leader, Bennett Johnson, Evanston Firefighters Local 742, the firefighters union; Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner (and former Lake Michigan Federation head) Cameron “Cam” Davis, among hers. She also included a bunch of restaurants, including the Coffee Lab, where she is a regular customer.
Backing by Evanston’s political establishment doesn’t assure victory in the First Wards, which includes large number of longtime single family homeowners leery of expansion moves by the university.
Endorsements no sure thing
As far back as 1991, First Ward candidate Art Newman ran against Walter Clarkson, a manufacturing rep who had the endorsement of all the former mayors as well as “all the living aldermen,” at the time, Newman recalled in a recent interview.
Newman, one of the city’s all-time campaigners, still swept to an easy victory, winning close to 63% of the vote.
”I think endorsements help legitimize a candidate,” he said. “At the end of the day, people will most base their vote on personal observations of the candidates.”
Kelly, a retired Spanish teacher at Evanston Township High School, is stressing her role to ensure government accountability and responsibility, helping lead the city’s adoption of its first public safety pension policy — placing the funding of police and fire on a 100% funding track after decades of underfunding costing the city millions in interest payments.
During her first term, the longtime activist was often on her own, though, pushing fellow officials and staff for rationale on a number of moves, ranging from the civic center move to the cost of a $700,000 access ramp at the city’s dog
At an early forum sponsored by the Southeast Evanston Association, Hackney, who retired as a partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis after 25 years, maintained that his temperament is better suited for the office, arguing that the First Ward will benefit from having a representative that has constructive working relationships with the mayor, council members and staff. “I will stand up for the First Ward,” he said, listing priorities on his website, hackney4first.com. “My goal is to work with our fellow stakeholders, not against them.”
His priorities include renewal of downtown, a constructive and mutual relationship with Northwestern University, affordability.
Hackney, a member of the Connections for the Homeless Board of Directors, declared he “was candidly angered” by Kelly’s vote against the special use that would allow the agency to continue operate a homeless shelter out of the Margarita Inn.
“In my world view, you cannot vote to close a homeless shelter full of men, women and children without a clear strategy about what you’re going to do with those folks.”
Kelly responded: “In fact, I got the city to hire one of the best group housing attorneys and planners in the nation (housing expert Daniel Lauber) to come to the city to write an operating agreement to ensure the safety of the residents. I was thinking first and foremost about the residents of the Margarita Inn, the same way I thought for the residents of the Claridge on Dempster Street, another low-income housing (unit) where there were serious issues,” she said. “So I wanted to ensure, going forward, that there were all the measures in place, that the services would be delivered, that there would be an off ramp if needed. That’s what I did.”
Besides the pension fund policy, other accomplishments she listed in her first term include initiating Evanston’s first Finance & Budget Committee, successfully securing an $800,000 contribution from Northwestern for the purchase of a fire engine, introducing an ordinance to restrict and regulate employee severance pay/buy outs.
Also, she assisted with the opening of the city-run coffee house at the Arrington Lagoon, “which I sometimes call ‘Cafe O Lake,” she said at the forum.
Third Ward: Iles lines up ward council member Wynne; Southeast Evanston Association head among Kennedy’s backers
In the Third Ward, Shawn Iles has listed Biss, Hagerty, Tisdahl, Cameron Davis, along with Melissa Wynne, the longtime council member of the ward whose seat he is seeking, as supporters on his website, shawnforevanston.com.
Davis is also on the list as well as Grover, the former Seventh Ward alderperson.
He also has the backing of a number of current and former members of the Evanston Public Library Board, which he served on for ten years.
Meanwhile, John Kennedy, expected to be his strongest challenger, includes John Bowes-Carlson, the president of the influential Southeast Evanston Association, former Evanston mayor Jay Lytle, Mark Metz, past president of the District 202 School Board, and former Third Ward council member Emily Guthrie among his backers on his website, johnkennedy3rd.com.
Kennedy a life-long Tech/software entrepreneur executive and former president of the Youth Job Center and Gennifer Geer, an outreach coordinator for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, are the two other first-time candidates seeking to succeed Wynne, who has served the ward since 1998.
Of the three, Kennedy has by far the most experience with city issues. He helped sponsor an advisory referendum in 2007 which more 80% supported, calling for the city to remain in its longtime home at the civic center.
“I like Shawn, but I’m afraid he’s going to be like many of the council members the last four years, deferring to Daniel Biss’s judgement on how to vote,” he said in response to the establishment’s backing of Iles.
In recent years, he has turned to financial issues, identifying 94 items, totaling $10.2 million, in the city’s 2024 budget that could be challenged. Her personally contributed an alternative design of an access ramp for the city’s dog beach, which he maintained could be built at a fraction of the $700,000 price.`
“My main focus will be helping to get our financial operations in better shape,” he said at the SEA forum. “For too long, the city has been throwing money around as if it’s Christmas.”
He has countered Iles list with some leaders and former leaders citywide, including Josh Bowes-Carlson, president of the Southeast Evanston Association, Walter Carlson, former District 65 School Board president, former Third Ward Alderperson Emith Guthrie, and longtime community activist and onetime NAACP head Bennett Johnson.
Iles served ten years on the Library Board — part of a veteran group of members who navigated the library through tight budgets, and transition to a realignment of of library services — closing north and south branches, and opening the Robert Crown Branch library.
In making the painful moves, library board members above any other city group, adhered to a strong DEI plan that called for bringing services to where the greatest need is.
”Shawn put our public libraries on firm financial footing,” former EPL trustee and Third Ward resident Margaret Lurie, is quoted on his website.
His website notes that he’s the only candidate in the race with prior public service.
“I think that running for office is a civic duty. It’s a continuation of the community service I’ve already done,” he said at the SEA forum. “You know, the results of the last federal election have only strengthened my resolve that locally is the place where you can make an impact. So as a cult council person, you can expect me to be collaborative, responsive and transparent.”
Iles serves as the overnight shelter director for the Interfaith Action of Evanston, which works closely with Connections for the Homeless on expanding services for the city’s homeless population.
Geer, who bills herself as “a new voice for Evanston,” on her website, serves as treasurer for the Democratic Party of Evanston.
In her campaign, she has strongly emphasized the environmental resilience and climate action, and a thriving cityscape in her environment.
Responding to business owners along Main Street, still recovering from a a streetscape project that ran several years beyond city officials projection, her ideas include adding more reflective flags to cross walks, creating more east-west bike paths and implementing loading zones for delivery vehicles, all issues in the area after the streetscape project.
She also has pledged virtual ward office hours, with residents placing responsiveness as an important attribute in the alderperson who succeeds Wynne.
Seventh Ward
In the northeast Seventh Ward, first-time candidate Kerry Mundy lists backing from retiring Seventh Ward Eleanor Revelle, who he is hoping to succeed.
Mundy, the chair of the city’s Public Safety/Civil Service Commission, is retail equities trader. His background includes assignments in national security and intelligence posts. He also served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, according to the biography on his website, kerryforseventhward.com.
His opponent is Parielle Davis, another first-time candidate. Davis served as Vice President of the Most Livable City Association. Before moving to Evanston, Davis worked with the Boston branch of the NAACP to advocate for the implementation of body cameras, she says in the bio on her website, parielle.com.
The Most Livable City Association group led the main fight against the staging of large-scale commercial events, raising concerns about noise, traffic and community disruption.
Davis’s supporters include longtime Seventh Ward resident and activist Mary Rosinski who challenged Revelle in the 2021 municipal election, losing by a 1,100 to 725 vote count.
Much of Revelle’s margin — more than 2-1 occurred — in her northeast tip of the ward, in her home precinct, which includes some of the most expensive properties in the city.
