Voters to weigh in on only two contested races among the township’s key roles, supervisor and highway commissioner
Candidates for Supervisor at Algonquin Township include (from left:) Kirk Cole, Randy Funk, and Elaine Ramesh.
In the Republican primary set for Feb. 23, voters will decide who will serve as Algonquin Township’s next supervisor, one of only two races for the township – the second being highway commissioner – that are actually contested out of the five races on the ballot this spring.
Primary voters will be asked to chose between three Republican candidates for supervisor: Elaine Ramesh, Randolph “Randy” Funk and Kirk Cole. The winner will appear on the April ballot where they are set to run uncontested.
“These days, a lot of people are discouraged with the national political situation and everything else,” Ramesh said. “I think good people have to stand up and try and say, ‘OK, I’ll run for office, I think I could do a good job so let it be me.’”
Ramesh is a current Algonquin Township trustee and secretary of the McHenry County Republican Women’s Club. She also previously served on the Barrington Hills Village Board. She said she is running for supervisor as a continuation of this service and to bring more female representation to township leadership.
Read more here.
So is Ramesh saying “vote for me because I am female”? I didn’t know gender was a prerequisite for public office. Her voting record while a Barrington Hills Trustee shows her in lock-step with then Village President Robert G. Abboud, a Democrat who ran for Congress against Don Manzullo, losing that election with only 35% of the vote. She voted to spend like a Democrat then, thus the question remains: “Can the woman change her skin, or the leopard his spots?”
Aren’t there enough RINOs running loose in McHenry County?
To sum up Ramesh, when Ramesh won elected office in Barrington Hills she had more votes than any other trustee candidate; 4 years later, when Ramesh ran for re-election she had less votes than anyone else. This speaks volumes about this former “female” elected official who remained silent while in elected office when she could have voiced some concern and taken meaningful action to protect VBH residents from known wasteful spending and highly questionable activities by subsequently disgraced Democrat Village leadership.
If you imagined a horrible Candadate compleaty controlled by Aboude you couldn’t pick a better candidate!
To Drain:
Yes, Drain I did serve on a board with Democrats. So what? All Village races are non-partisan, and we served in a non-partisan way. Most people consider it a skill and an advantage to be able to reach across the aisle and work courteously with those who don’t share all of their values.
I absolutely did not vote “in lock step” with President Abboud. There were of course many points of agreement, but also a number of times when l disagreed. One example is over the lighting ordinance, where I made sure that homeowners’ existing light was grandfathered in and excepted from more stringent new rules. Another example was my no votes on budgets/levies that resulted in tax increases, just like I voted against salary increases for Algonquin Township officials. What do I or my qualifications to run for office, or my record in office have to do with Mr. Abboud’s congressional run? I had no involvement in that.
Lastly, I didn’t say “vote for me because I’m female”. When I spoke to the reporter I told her that one of the reasons I’d applied for appointment to the Algonquin Township board in 2019 was because the vacancy was for a seat won by a female. I thought it important at that point in time for women to apply for that position.
To Fernanda:
Since you aren’t even sure how to spell Mr. Abboud’s name, perhaps you are a new resident or one who hadn’t paid attention to local politics. Looks like you are ill-informed, so here is just some of what this “horrible candidate” has achieved in office:
Highlights from prior service on the Village of Barrington Hills Board:
* planned and hosted an informational series of Private Road Homeowners Road Maintenance meetings so residents with responsibility for their own roads could meet each other, share best practices and receive tips from the Village engineer and the Village attorney
* instituted a survey of all drainage and retention features Village-wide and directed necessary repairs
* recognized a need and began a set-aside fund to save conservatively for the eventual complete replacement of the Cuba Road bridge (Veterans’ Crossing)
* successfully brokered compromise on the Village’s Lighting Ordinance to ensure that the new rule would not apply to homeowners’ existing lights
* held a forum for residents to meet with and ask questions of local tax assessors
* voted against budgets/levies that would have led to tax increases
County Level Accomplishments:
* successfully advocated for reinstatement of the omitted Estate category of zoning in the county’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan
Experience in working for change at the state level:
drafted pro-equestrian/equine changes to Illinois law; lead advocacy efforts and achieved success with adoption of four amendments which became state law
Accomplishments on the Algonquin Township Board:
Fiscally Responsible Decisions
* created guidelines to prevent excessive legal fees by capping lawyer’s hourly rates
* voted against salary increases for Township officials
* did not seek reimbursement for any of my own travel related expenses for Township meetings (meals, mileage and hotel costs)
Improvements to Communications
* instituted capability for direct and cost- effective email communication with residents
Civic Initiatives
* worked to maintain and improve both of Algonquin Township’s historic cemeteries in partnership with the Crystal Lake Historical Preservation Commission
* advocated for resumption of programs for residents during the pandemic via Zoom communication such as Chair Yoga
* proposed several amendments to Illinois state law to our state’s Township organization (TOI) to improve the functioning and fiscal oversight of Township government
To David:
What exactly do you mean by “voicing concerning and taking meaningful action to protect the residents”? What are the “highly questionable activities”? Who was “subsequently disgraced” and how? What is it exactly I was to do or not do? This appears to be some sort of vague accusation, to continue unjustly casting me in a bad light. Why?
And why is “female” in quotes? Are you questioning my gender? I can’t figure that out but I do know that when a woman is an independent thinker who gets things done, it can scare some men, so perhaps that is the case here.
It is true that I did not win re-election, but it is also true that I did not spend one cent on my campaign and still got about the same number of votes as other trustee candidates who spend five figures on mailers etc. and also were not elected.
When persons appointed to committees in our Village feel free to bad-mouth other residents and neighbors, it creates an atmosphere where communication is stifled. When a person who is to impartially listen to residents and make reasoned decisions is allowed to impugn other residents’ reputations without repercussions, it causes residents to question whether that person is truly equipped for the position they hold. Even worse, such behavior causes residents to choose not to speak up in meetings or put comments in writing. They are silent not because everyone agrees with what is happening, but because of all the bullying, innuendo and negativity that teaches them that they and their views would not be respected. You can do better David. Try.
TL;DR