A series of forums spotlighting candidates in the April 7 elections will culminate next week in two nights of events centered on the contenders for the eight open positions on the Naperville City Council.
The final two Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation forums will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday in the City Council chambers of the Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.
Half of the candidates will be featured on each evening. Four incumbents are seeking new terms, and an additional 15 hopefuls are actively campaigning. Local bar owner Jim Bergeron’s name remains on the ballot, but he has said he will not be able to serve if elected, because local law forbids liquor license holders from serving on the council.
The confederation plans to have each candidate discuss the city’s finances.
“We’ve allotted over an hour in each forum for questions from that night’s audience so the community can ask candidates what they will need to know to make informed decisions at the polls,” Bob Fischer, the organization’s president, said in a news release.
Candidates scheduled to appear Tuesday include Becky Anderson, Bill Eagan, Wayne Floegel, Dick Furstenau, Kevin Gallaher, Patty Gustin, H. Thomas O’Hale, Steve Peterson, Steve Purduski and David Wentz.
The published lineup for Thursday shows Bergeron, Rebecca Boyd-Obarski, Judy Brodhead, John Colletti, Kevin Coyne, Bob Hajek, Paul Hinterlong, John Krummen, Nancy Marinello and Joe McElroy.
The unprecedented eight open seats are the result of a now-defunct plan to shift council representation to a partial district system, with five geographically tied members and three at-large councilmen. That plan was scrapped by voters in April 2013, after it had been determined that the terms of all current council members will expire next month.
Because council seats are staggered, the four winners who draw the most votes in the upcoming election will each have a four-year term, while those who receive the next four highest tallies will each serve two years before their tenure is up.
The forums are broadcast live on Naperville’s public access station, WCNC (Channel 6 WOW, Channel 10 Comcast, and Channel 99 AT&T) and streamed live on the city’s website, http://www.naperville.il.us/.
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Forums will be also be replayed on WCNC prior to the elections. The schedule for replays of all 2015 forums, which also have featured candidates for the Park District, Indian Prairie School District 204 and mayor, can be found at http://www.naperville.il.us/emplibrary/WCNCMonthlySchedule.pdf.Twitter @scarlman