The first contested race in recent New Trier Township board history appeared to be headed for lopsided results, as all four members of the caucus-endorsed trustee slate tallied double-digit vote percentages in their quest for four open township seats, according to unofficial totals from the Cook County Clerk’s office.
Kevin Boyd, Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg, Elliott Robbins and John Thomas of the New Trier Economy Party slate campaigned in part against what they called partisan interference in a local election. With all 41 precincts reporting, Boyd, of Wilmette, had 20.24 percent of the 8,977 ballots cast, according to unofficial figures reported by the Cook County Clerk’s website. Eisenberg and Robbins, also of Wilmette, tallied 20.32 and 19.43 percent respectively, while Thomas, of Winnetka, gained 19.37 percent of the vote, it said.
The three independents they faced, Bob Costello, Kathy Myalls, and Stacey Woehrle, all of Wilmette, trailed with 6.82, 6.99, and 6.84 percent of the vote respectively, according to the Cook County Clerk’s office.
“I think the community came together, and I think this is a message that the township is important, local and non-partisan,” Boyd said on election night.
Eisenberg agreed, saying, “I think people recognized that our local governments need to stay independent of national politics and that outside agendas aren’t needed here.”
Robbins said he was amazed at what he called the margin of victory, but proferred an olive branch to the slate’s opponents: “We hope we can go out for a drink with them and bury the hatchet. Even though we disagreed with some of their plans, we don’t think of them as bad people.”
Costello said he hoped that the contested race made more residents aware of New Trier Township: “Now that it’s more apparent to people in New Trier, maybe it will be run in a more effective and transparent way.”
He said he and his running mates were hurt by what he called misinformation that he said suggested they wanted to get rid of the township: “We never wanted to shut services down.”
“We would have wanted to run and win and lead the effort, but the voters spoke,” he said.
The township board governs a geographic area that includes Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and portions of Glenview and Northfield. It helps area residents directly and through grants given to area social service agencies. Services include food pantry, mental health, youth and senior programs, among others.
The campaign between the four-person New Economy Party slate – chosen last fall by the New Trier Citizens League caucus – and three independent candidates running together became a debate on whether those independent candidates were bringing partisan politics into what has traditionally been a non-partisan arena.
Costello, Myalls and Woehrle denied running on any partisan platform. Instead, they said, they wanted to make township business more transparent for residents.
Although voting appeared to be slow at five township precinct locations in the late morning and early afternoon on April 4, some voters said they were paying attention to the township election.
Winnetka resident Jen McQuet, who voted at the Winnetka Community House, said the race was a major reason she came out to cast a ballot.
“I voted 1-2-3-4,” she said, referencing the Economy Party and referring to the group of three independents as “The dark money party …their website is disturbing on so many levels, and their PAC is disturbing, too.”
At Wilmette’s Highcrest Middle School, where three precincts were located, one resident who wouldn’t give her name said she was interested in several races, including the township contest. The township, she said, spends money “like crazy.”
Wilmette resident Pat Mahoney said he’d paid attention to all the area races, and decried the low turnout: “You have no right to complain if you don’t come out to vote.”
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The township race also focused on township finances and the ability of residents to access financial and other township information.
Costello, Myalls and Woehrle said that the township’s administrative costs, which they claimed were at least 35 percent, were unacceptable, and promised that they would cut costs through measures including a review of township staffing levels, and of the possibility of moving from the township’s Winnetka headquarters. They also said their candidacies had already forced township administrators to be visible and more responsive to voters.
Economy Party slate members countered, saying they, too, wanted to run the township efficiently, but they disputed the government’s actual overhead. The four supported creating a new long-term strategic plan for the township.
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy