4 The Parks!

We don't want people to forget about the other local campaigns taking place!




Above, courtesy of a Park Board candidate, is campaign material related to the "4 The Parks" slate. The PRU Crew likes slates of candidates about as much as we like Mayor Howard, which is not even a little.

The way candidates choose to conduct their runs for office is their choice to make. And voters get to make their choice by casting votes for or against individual candidates.

When it comes to the "4 The Parks" slate, the Crew will be casting unanimous votes, next Tuesday, April 7th, in favor of Mr. Rick Biagi and Mr. Scott Duerkop. There is mixed opinion on the candidacies of Mr. Nick Milissis and Mr. Pawel Matula.

Mr. Milissis' record of attendance at meetings isn't impressive, and we do not know enough about Mr. Matula to recommend a vote for or against him. The same can be said for Mr. Steven Vile, a candidate who seems to be running independently from any slate or group affiliation.

However, we will say that not a single member of the Crew will be voting for Mr. Richard Brandt, the lone surviving candidate being backed by the SEIU (Service Employees International Union - Local 73).

The PRU Crew thinks unions are a very good thing -- when they do what they are supposed to do for their membership, which is knock heads against the administration of any given governing body, to try and get as much in the way of salary and benefits for their union membership as can be had.

The PRU Crew also thinks governing bodies are a very good thing -- when they do what they are supposed to do for the taxpayers they represent, which is knock heads with the employees and union membership they oversee, to try and keep costs to taxpayers reasonable and spending in check.

Their is a necessary and constructive adversarial tension between the two. When everyone acts like adults, the tension and adversarial points of view can be rough and hard-driving, but nevertheless productive.

The PRU Crew feels that seating Mr. Richard Brandt, who is being heavily backed by a union that is in a necessarily adversarial position against the governing body he is looking to serve on, is a mistake. To use an over-worked phrase, we feel it is akin to putting a fox inside the hen house. We sincerely believe that Mr. Brandt would not be able to set aside his allegiance to his union backers and independently make decisions on behalf of the taxpayers.

For this reason we strongly urge voters to reject Mr. Richard Brandt for a seat on the Park Ridge Park District Board. We also don't like all his damn campaign signs stuck all over the public parkways.