After vetting 14 potential candidates to succeed former Wilmette Park Commissioner James Crowley, members of the park board appear to be close to appointing Gordon Anderson to fill Crowley’s seat.
Park Board Director Steve Wilson said in a Sept. 24 announcement that commissioners had “reached a consensus” on Anderson. That came after a Sept. 16 closed committee of the whole session to review the results of initial phone interviews with hopefuls and to narrow the field to a few finalists. The board met again in closed session Sept. 23 to hold in-person interviews with those finalists.
But no final decision will be made until the park board’s next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 12, Wilson said.
Board president John Olvany said Sept. 28 that “Gordon has what we felt the board felt was the right fit in terms of qualifications and personality at the current time.
“Hopefully there will be a fair amount of discussion about the process when we meet, so that people get a full idea of what he offers.”
Olvany also praised the other candidates, saying there were “an amazing number of qualified people interested in serving. It made our discussions really difficult.”
Anderson, chief financial officer for Clarke, an environmental products and services company in St. Charles, said Sept. 28 that he put his name into consideration “because I thought my financial background was a good fit in terms of the other skills on the board.”
He said he and his family have used many park district services, and “on a personal level I now have time to dedicate to the board.”
Crowley, who was on the park board for 24 years and served as board president twice, won re-election in April, but resigned at the end of July after moving to Northbrook.
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