It looks like the election for who will be seated on the Park Ridge Park District board will be a real horse race!
We've been told 10 people submitted petitions yesterday for the 4 open board seats. Those people are --
Richard J. Brandt -- billed as a "retired realtor" by the Journal and Topics
Nicholas Giordano -- an attorney
Walter Mizialko -- of Walter's restaurant fame
Peter Wachowski -- an attorney
All the above appear to be on the SEIU (Service Employees International Union - Local 73) slate of preferred candidates which the Pub-dogs wrote about yesterday.
Rick Biagi -- an attorney, and who some of you may remember submitted a guest essay to PRU.
Scott Duerkop -- A member of the Park Ridge Parks Foundation and also, it appears, employed in the commercial real estate and investment management industry for Jones Lang LaSalle
Pawel Matula -- ?
Meredith Wisniewski -- ?
Steven Vile -- who we believe is an eye physician in Arlington Heights
Nick Milissis -- current Park Ridge Park District board member, and who we wrote about nearly a year ago
Quite an interesting mix of people!
We sure hope we've gotten the correct information listed for everyone. We look forward to hearing more about these candidates and their ideas.
January 27, 2009
Looks Like A Horse Race!
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30 comments:
I can see it now. A Sally Field impersonator shows up at a candidates forum dressed as "Norma Rae" and holds up the hand-printed sign "UNION" every time Brandt, Giordano, Mizialko and Wachowski speak.
Pay to play politics comes to the Park District.
SEIU works and fundraises to get their four candidates elected, while SEIU complains that they are not getting their way on merit pay with the District.
Wonder if they'll be anything expected of these candidates if they win? I'm not saying, just wondering.
Next thing you know a local car dealer will be contributing to a Mayoral candidate, so he can get a sweet deal just three years down the line..oh..wait..umm...never mind.
For the record, I'll not be drinking at Walter's Bar and Booze when/if that place opens again.
Not to say I won't be drinking...just not there!
Isn't Meredith Wisniewski a college student? Doesn't she play softball at Macalester in St. Paul, MN?
This just came in from Dave Scmidt's campaign office...........
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2009
Another example of Howard Frimark's lack of leadership and accountability has come to light, this time in the form of the Des Plaines casino. Last night at a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, an attorney for the Illinois Gaming Board took questions from the aldermen. It became readily apparent that Frimark completely ignored the prospect of a casino just feet away from Maine South High School, or worse, knew about it but said and did nothing to stop it.
In response to questions from Alderman Dave Schmidt, the First Ward Alderman who is challenging Frimark in the April mayoral election, Mike Fries, the attorney for the Gaming Board, said that Park Ridge had not been represented at any Gaming Board public hearings and had forfeited any opportunity it had to affect whether Des Plaines can build the casino. More importantly, Park Ridge is now precluded from having any input into where in Des Plaines the casino will be located.
Fries strongly disputed Alderman Don Bach's contention that the casino should have come as a surprise to the City, saying that the casino issue had been the subject of hundreds of newspaper articles and numerous news broadcasts.
Schmidt, himself, was critical of Frimark's inaction. "My opponent has repeatedly bragged about his close relationship with Des Plaines Mayor Arredia. If that is true, how come Frimark did not know about the casino? If he did know, why didn't he tell the residents, and why didn't he make every effort to affect where the casino would be located or, at a minimum, obtain concessions from Des Plaines to help offset the looming drain on our infrastructure and police resources?"
Finally, Schmidt pointed out that Frimark has not only ducked responsibility for his inaction, he has acted like a true politician by changing his story in an effort to appease angry residents. Schmidt noted that, "Frimark was quoted in a local newspaper on January 1 as saying 'I don't see it having a real negative effect.' However, at the January 26 Committee meeting, Frimark feigned concern about the casino and said it will provide no benefit to Park Ridge. That is the epitome of blowing with the wind."
Is that the young lady who wants to spend whatever amount is necessary to replace Oakton Pool?
let me get this straight...Frimark said that he didn't think the casino would be an issue in Park Ridge, even though it will be less than a mile from Maine South and many residences?
He didn't attend ANY of the meetings?
We won't get any auxiliary funding because he didn't get around to applying for it and now it's too late?
WHAT KIND OF CIRCUS IS THIS?
WAKE THE F* UP, MR MAYOR!!!!
Spend more money for Oakton Pool?
Absolutely, can't wait to vote for her. What a great "platform."
We're hoping to hear the platforms for each of these candidates, since we haven't heard anything yet.
Dear 1:39,
Where were the rest of our "leaders", including Messiah Schmidt, when those hearing were held last fall?
No question that Frimark as mayor should have led the charge, but what about the other 7?
Messiah?
uh, geez. Hold on.
I think the mayor should've been there...or he could have appointed anyone to go in his place.
Instead, he chose to IGNORE the issue. he was too busy haveing behind closed doors meetings and making "deals". I'll let you fill in the rest.
By no means is Mr. Schmidt a Messiah. He is a BETTER CHOICE.
Our mayor look like Big Bird.
10:09,
I would have simply felt that Schmidt's comments were more than a political statement if he had prefaced them by admitting that ALL of the elected officials ignored this issue, including himself, and then made his point about the mayor. The statement would have been more meaningful for me and been a breath of fresh air. If you demand others to take responsibility for their actions or inactions, you should as well.
Mr. Schmitdt, I often appreciate your opinions but expressing them with a humble heart will carry a lot more weight with many folks than always implying that you and your efforts are infallible or the only correct point of view.
Looks like 10:48 pm has the milquetoast demographic covered. I have had all the false humility I can stand from the white shirts and the PRMA, when they aren't busy praising themselves to the heavens for their humble hearts. Enough of that. It's a breath of fresh air when somebody isn't full of all that garbage. No thank you. I want somebody who speaks plainly what is on his mind.
I agree with anon at 10:48. All the elected officials-Frimark, Schmidt, Bach, Carrey, Ryan, Allegretti, Wsol, DiPietro- dropped the ball on the casino and the ORD OMP. While another term of Frimark as mayor in this town would be the death blow to PR-Schmidt should take responsibility for his lack of action on the OMP and the casino-something he seems unable or unwilling to do.
The difference between the mayor and the aldermen, including Schmidt, is that Frimark claims to have a very close relationship with the mayor of Des Plaines. He claims to have lunch with him regularly, That means Frimark was in a unique position to learn about the exact location of the casino and to extract concessions from Des Plaines BEFORE it was a done deal. Now Park Ridge has little if any leverage.
Although I agree that unions serve an important role and are responsible for most of the benefits our workforce enjoys I find SEIU's strategy of aiming to overtake the board by installing puppet commissioners offensive. When a union bargains in bad faith and has its representatives grandstanding and threatening the park board in a public meeting it hurts its own members and its credibility as an organization. This underhanded strategy of running a slate solely for the purpose of getting puppet candidates on board who will unquestionably do its bidding endangers the interests of Park Ridge residents. What is worrisome is that in races like this, which are considered minor or unimportant by the local media and unfortunately many of the voters the truth gets lost and the people with the most lawn signs and most ads in the paper get elected. The union slate will be heavily financed by SEIU (who is already planning a February fundraiser for them) to ensure that the voters miss what is coming their way. It is unfortunate when the democratic process is hijacked in such manner. Hopefully the voters will pay attention and realize that their taxes will soon be financing salaries of workers who get paid because they’ve warmed their seat long enough and not because they deserve it.
Maybe there are some in town that want the Casino where it's going to go.
Lots of folks like to play cards, slots, etc.
Myself...I'm partial to the sport of Kings.
We fought like hell aginst PADS because of the "risk involved". Now we will have a casino next door with his good friend, the Mayor of DesPlaines. People....wake up and put 2 and 2 together!!!
Time for a change!
Have to agree with 10:48. As is always the case, I have to choose the best of the candidates, not the PERFECT candidate. With that in mind, at this point Alderman Dave is the choice.
But with the casino and the runway, he missed it just like the rest of them (and just like me by the way). To his credit, Alderman Dave has involved himself in city wide issues, not just issues that affect his ward. Yet he said nothing about these issues. I would have been nice to see these press releases 18 months ago or shortly after he came into office rather than during a campaign.
So I guess what I am saying is that of course it is the mayor who is the leader of city goverment. I am not and will not excuse Howard for his abysmal performance but I am not excusing Aderman for his performance on these issues either.
The buck really should stop with the leader of our fair city-- the mayor-- so of course, the mayor is going to be held to a higher standard than any of the aldermen. In my opinion, that is correct. It is usually the mayor who has the best opportunity to be in the know on issues, so we have a justifiable right to hold him to a higher standard. And I believe that if the situation were different and Schmidt were the mayor, he would have been all over these things-- the casino, the runway--- like white on rice. Which is why he is the better choice for mayor, by far.
And if Mr. Schmidt does seem to be coming out strongly and pointing out things the mayor is doing (or not doing), he most likely feels he needs to do so, partly because he is in a good position to gather the information, and partly because who else will do it for him? This blog has been an invaluable resource for getting the skinny on things going on in PR, but outside of this-- where is that information getting disseminated? Nowhere. People who post here need to talk to their friends and neighbors and write to the papers to share their thoughts and information with the broader public, or we are going to be moaning and suffering here together for a long time! It's a 3 word message: SCHMIDT FOR MAYOR.
I don't think you can hold Schmidt responsible in any way for the OHare mess. As far as he, or anyone else knew, the mayor had that 'covered'...he put Bach in charge of it. The real questions are should he have put ANYONE else in charge of it; and after having done so, why did he not ask Bach for reports on the meetings?
As far as the casino, my question is are any of the alderman in a position to negociate anything? I would think the mayor is the only one who can do that, but I'm not sure about that.
The mayor did not drop the ball on O'Hare when he put Bach in charge. It was already too late by then. Howard dropped the ball in 2005-06 when blew off the ONCC meetings despite the-Alderman Markech's pleas.
As far as the casino goes, how could the subject of the casino not jhave come up during one of Howie's many pow-wows with the mayor of Des Plaines? That is the big question?
What can we do to stop this casino? According to the Journal and Topics, they heard nothing from anyone in PR in opposition. I am furious that these officials have failed us with the new flight patterns and runway issues, as well as with this. Devon and Cumberland are already bottlenecks as it is, not to mention the expressway traffic that is going to get worse.
Someone, please tell us what to do. WE DON'T WANT IT.
And in the meantime, let's get the tar and feathers our for Frimark and run him and his business out of our town.
I don't even understand why we are questioning the choice for mayor. Frimark has done NOTHING to protect PR from the terrible mess we face. He didn't just drop the ball, he never took it in the first place. Water under the dam...it's time for mia culpa, mia maxima culpa and rectify our error in judgement. ELECT SCHMIDT! Yes, spread the word where it counts most ....among the voters....we are!
Sadly it looks like the casino's a done deal.
I'm sure there were those in Des Plains who weren't for it either and probably did what they could do to stop it and obviously it didn't work.
Plus what do you expect us to do?
I think the casino is a done deal as well. At this point, all we can do is have the PR police cover the area really well. It reminds me of when Hooters opened up on Higgins. Initially the patrons were parking their cars all over the side streets. It was a nightmare. You'd wake up on a Saturday or Sunday morning and there would be broken beer bottles all over the parkways. The neighbors took turns calling the police and getting the cars ticketed, etc. Within a month, the cars stopped parking there.
In essense what some of you seem to be saying is that Schmidt should be given a complete pass for saying nothing on O'hare and the Casino (as an elected official). What if he would have not weighed in on the whole PADS issue??? On the one hand you applaud him for leading the charge on city wide issues yet with the other you absolve from any responsibility for from saying/doing nothing on these issues.
I agree completely that he is the better choice in the election for Mayor but I am unwilling drink from the same batch of Kool-Aid you seem to be drinking from.
No, I don't think he should be given a pass on either. I think on O'Hare, as far as he knew, it WAS being handled; by Frimark and Bach. As far as the casino, well, he likely failed us there, but again, I'm not sure what he could have done. That's very different from PADS. I don't think an alderman has the ability to negociate with either the Gaming Comission or another mayor. Frimark not only has that ability, but he's FRIENDS with the other mayor.
Anonymous at 1220,
At the risk of wasting my time and effort...
You seem confoundingly unaware of the respective roles of elected officials, the functions they are supposed to perform, their ability to "deal with city-wide issues"...and how all of that comes together.
First...Alderman Dave "weighed-in" on regulating homeless shelters within the city because IT WAS AN AGENDA ITEM BEFORE THE COUNCIL...or maybe you missed that part of the issue...
Second...the OMP was NEVER an issue on the city council agenda because 1) Alderman Bach, the ONCC liaison, failed to give a single solitary report to his fellow council members, and 2) Alderman Dave was NOT the liaison, and mistakenly relied upon his fellow council member, appointed by Frimark, to do the job he was supposed to be doing...like letting everyone know what the hell was coming.
Third...the Des Plaines casino is an issue that seems to have caught everyone a bit unaware...though I have to admit I had personally heard about Des Plaines potentially getting a casino from and Des Plaines alderman, back in November 2008, so if the issue came up in casual conversation in front of me, why the hell did the issue never seemingly come up during Frimark's and Arredia's regular lunch dates? Or do you think it did, and Frimark, in usual fashion, had his head up his ass on something that might actually matter to Park Ridge...?
...again, the person in a position to know and report on the casino matter...that would be Frimark...failed to either 1) be aware, or 2) ask his lunch companion, Mayor Arredia about it, or 3) warn anybody about it, if in fact, Frimark ever did bother to discuss it with Arredia. Has anyone bothered to find out if public hearing notices or invitations to the public hearings were ever received at City Hall? If so...those notices become the perview of both the city manager and the mayor...hell, Frimark gets insurance mail at city hall, and campaign phone calls at city hall...maybe he's too busy attending to his personal concerns at city hall to bother to pay attention to the people's business at city hall...
I don't give Alderman Schmidt any kind of pass for not addressing things that come before him or should be right under his nose...but I cannot hold him responsible for things that are essentially NOT within his "jurisdiction"...and where was Carey, the 6th ward Alderman, on the Casino issue? Because Carey isn't a candidate for mayor, he gets a pass?
That's not drinking the kool-aid, that's just not willing to contort myself into some sort of idiot pretzel trying to be "fair" in assessing blame, but really doesn't have a single clue about how government functions, and how those in it should be expected to function...
Because of all the things Alderman Dave HAS stepped-up on and weighed-in on, I find him to be a far far far more promising mayoral candidate than Frimark has proved himself to be as an actual mayor...eeeww, ick, gag...
Thank you, Bean, for taking the time and making the effort to spell that out. It isn't a waste of either your time or effort, because sometimes you have to stop a errant stream of thinking with the facts and logic.
The mayor is the responsible party in these cases, and has failed miserably. Trying to dilute that failure by imputing blame to Ald. Schmidt stems from sloppy thinking that allows us to expect less than what we have a right to expect. We have a right to expect competence at least, and excellence at best. That's not what we're getting, and that should be our standard.
Dave Schmidt will do better. We just have to get him there.
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