With travel and family duties conflicting with his village trustee responsibilities, Patrick Word will not be seeking re-election this spring.
Before the 2013 elections, under the Western Springs Caucus system, no one sought a second term. That rule was changed to allow incumbents another term.
Word is the only village trustee whose position is up for election in the spring who is not seeking a second term. Fellow Trustees Sheila Hansen and Ed Tymick have the caucus’ support for another four years. Berry Allen has been slated to replace Word on the Village Board.
“My wife and I travel a bit,” Word said of his decision to step down from the board. “We head out to Arizona in the winter and that puts a cramp on the staff.
“I have enjoyed these four years, but I have other interests which clash with the duties of the job.”
Word said he has greatly enjoyed serving on the board and helping keep the village rolling along.
“It has been a joy. It is a great group of people on the board,” Word said. “The staff is wonderful. Western Springs is blessed with a good staff of people, headed by (Village Manager) Pat (Higgins).
“It has been a relatively easy job as a trustee, working with the staff.”
Word said being an engineer and raising kids kept him from getting involved in village government in the past. He said conversations with caucus President Jack Lynch reassured him that the village position would not be overwhelming.
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“I was a little tepid going into it,” Word admitted. “I had not been involved with something like this in the past … but I took the job on about the time I retired. So it matched up well for me. It was a great experience, but the first six months, I was a little nervous.”
Word said he is proud to have played a role in getting the village’s new water treatment plant up and running. While noting he did not play a large role in creating the new treatment plant, Word said he is happy to have been involved in the project nonetheless.
While “some hiccups” occurred in the construction process, Word said the end result has been well worth it.
“Our water is second to none in the area in terms of quality,” he said.
“Grandfather duties” will take up more of Word’s time after he steps down from the board. With grandkids in North Carolina and Downers Grove, he is looking to spend more time with family after fulfilling his village commitment.
“It’s a great village. I am glad to have been a part of it,” Word said. “I still see good things coming downtown, not that it’s bad now. And it will be some years before we see major changes, but I think (things happening downtown) are positive.
“I like that the board is intent on doing things and making this little village the best it can be.”