With this year’s gubernatorial election in the rearview, incumbents and newcomers, alike, who will seek office in the spring 2023 election are announcing their candidacy – including for Arlington Heights trustee and the high school board.
Incumbent Arlington Heights village Trustee Thomas Schwingbeck Jr. announced in a Nov. 28 news release that he will seek re-election to the Village Board in the April 4, 2023 municipal election.
Now in the last months of his first term, Schwingbeck was elected to the board in 2019. He was also previously on the village’s zoning board
“As a current Village Trustee I know the issues facing our village and will continue to focus on being a good steward of our residents’ money while making sure we offer them superior Village services. It is important to me to be fiscally responsible, especially in these tough economic times,” he said in the release. “The residents of Arlington Heights put a lot of trust in this Board to make good decisions and I look forward to serving the Village for another 4 years.”
Another seat will be open on the Village Board with the departure of Mary Beth Canty, who was elected in November to the Illinois General Assembly. After winning her state representative bid, Canty told Pioneer Press she would stay on as an Arlington Heights village trustee until her term expires in April. She is set to be sworn in as state rep in January.
An Arlington Heights trustee since 2019, Canty beat out Republican challenger Michele Hunter to represent Illinois House District 54 in Springfield. The district includes Arlington Heights and parts of Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Palatine.
Other Village Board candidacy announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
At Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214, current school board members William Dussling and Alva Kreutzer announced last week in a news release they will each seek reelection. Dan Petro won’t seek another term, according to the release, and Frank Fiarito is running for that seat.
The three plan to run as the Friends of District 214 slate.
SD214 is made up of six schools, including John Hersey and Buffalo Grove high schools, and enrolls more than 11,900 students.
Fiarito is currently on the Mount Prospect-based River Trails School District 26 board.
More Top Picks Best Tvs
The current SD214 board president, Dussling is a 24-year veteran of the board, the release states. He’s served several stints as a board leader, including president and vice-president.
Likewise, Kreutzer, of Elk Grove Village, has been president and vice-president of the SD214 board in her 23 years as a member. Kreutzer is also director of the North Cook Division for the Illinois Association of School Boards, the release states.
According to the release, Fiarito has been on the SD26 board for over 12 years – also with stints as president and vice-president. Additionally, Fiarito is the current treasurer of the River Trails Music Boosters Association and the district’s representative on the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization for eight years.
Fiarito lives in the Hersey High School attendance area, the release states.
“District 214 is a lighthouse district in the community, state and across the country. The district has had a balanced budget for over 25 years and has not held a tax referendum in over 50 years,” Dussling said in the release.
Fiarito said in the release that colleges are familiar with SD214’s curriculum, and national and state academic rankings.
” In fact, colleges seek out our students to attend their schools and parents move to our communities because of the district’s reputation for educational excellence, Fiarito said in the release.