We omitted that a total 13 candidates filed for the position created when Melissa Victor stepped down according to the Blog (see “Applicants to Replace Melissa Victor as Algonquin Township Trustee“), and two of those candidates are Barrington Hills residents as seen below:
“Elaine Marie Ramesh, Barrington Hills, patent attorney, former BH Village Clerk and Trustee, member of the McHenry County Republican Women’s Club, member of McHenry County Conservation District Advisory Committee, equestrian advocate, raised $40,000 local private match to Federal Recreational Trails program grant to install a horse trailer parking lot to support five miles of multi-use trails.
Linda H. Cools, Barrington Hills, Citizens Advisory Group for IDOT re widening of Route 62, advocates lowering the required bid level for Highway Department, advocates countering negative publicity, ran twice for the BH Village Board, advocate of transparency, records and posts BH Village Board meetings on Facebook, endorsed by BH Trustees Fritz Gohl and Robert Zubak.”
Fritz Gohl is not a Barrington Hills trustee, although he was in some darker times in our past history. He is now in a paid position as trustee for Barrington Township (he ran unopposed) where he can inflict far less damage to the taxpayers of this Village than he did in his too many years on the Barrington Hills Board of Trustees.
Apparently, the resident who filed for consideration is not up on current events, or decided on their own that accurate facts should not matter in the trustee’s consideration.
Robert Zubak
Our larger concern is the apparent endorsement by Trustee Robert Zubak of this resident’s filing to fill the vacancy (“apparent” due to the fact that the applicant has “misstated” facts before). If Zubak did endorse this applicant, does that imply an endorsement as a potential running mate in the 2021 Village Trustee elections?
Perhaps we’ll learn the answer at Monday evening’s Board of Trustees meeting. If not, only time will tell.
Three candidates running as “One Barrington Hills” won their bids to become Trustees on the Barrington Hills board Tuesday night. Brian Cecola and Bryan Croll won reelection as Trustees and Debra Buettner will fill a seat on the board.
Unofficial results from Tuesday’s election are as follows:
Bryan Croll 669
Brian Cecola 689
Debra Buettner 616
Linda Cools 271
Louis Iacovelli 374
We’ll be publishing more news on the 2019 Barrington Hills election as it becomes available.
In what turned out to be a hard fought, oft times contentious campaign, some may have thought we were asking for a leap of faith from our readers, and we continue to appreciate the confidence bestowed upon us by our readers. Though this year’s campaign is the quietest we’ve witnessed in 10 years, the stakes are no less high than they were four years ago.
Five residents are running for three seats on our Board of Trustees. Two residents are incumbent Trustees, one is a current member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the other two ran unsuccessfully for village positions in 2017. Here are our thoughts on these five candidates:
Louis Iacovelli: Louis seems like an affable guy in the computer software business. His campaign website is well done, though it would be more suitable to have photo of a location in the Village on the home page and not unincorporated McHenry County.
We cannot support Louis candidacy for the simple reason his wife, Gigi Iacovelli, is the treasurer of the Barrington Hills Park District. Currently a candidate for election on the park board herself, she derives at least part of her income by providing lessons at the district. While this is not a direct conflict of interest, the potential for lack of objectivity may cause concern in a trustee position.
Linda H. Cools: Linda ran as a write-in candidate for trustee 2 years ago, and after two recent Board of Election hearings, she is running for trustee on the April 2nd ballot.
The best thing one can say about Linda is she will do anything to get elected. This was evidenced by the fact that she (‘misspoke’) under oath multiple times to the Village President, President Pro-Tem and the Deputy Village clerk (seeTruth or consequences). We have no place in such a small village for unrepentant (misspeakers)!
Buettner
Debra Buettner: Debra had served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for nearly 4 years when President McLaughlin asked her to consider running for Trustee. When she asked if he needed her help, he replied “Yes.” And that’s why she’s running today.
Debra founded her law firm about the same time she moved to the village nearly thirty years ago. She is a graduate of Barrington High School, and she has her CPA as well as a law degree. Her confident attitude and her experience on the Zoning Board warrant our endorsement for Board of Trustees.
Cecola
Brian D. Cecola: Brian became a Trustee in 2015 and was given responsibility for Roads and Bridges as well as Public Safety. No one adequately prepared him for the conditions he would be inheriting, but as most residents now recognize, he was up for the challenge and then some.
Brian also graduated from Barrington High School and he also owns his own business. He and his wife, Stephanie, and their three children are active in the community, participating in the neighborhood clean up days and riding trail maintenance.
Brian is also very active in philanthropy, is President of the Lions Club, and helped found and run the Fourth of July tent and fireworks. Despite all this, when President McLaughlin asked him to serve another term, he agreed, and he has our wholehearted endorsement.
Bryan C. Croll: Bryan was also elected to the Board of Trustees in 2015. He has been in charge of monitoring the finances of the village with the day-to-day oversight Peggy Hirsch, Village Treasurer. He and Peggy also keep track of police pension fund performance.
Bryan and his wife Josie have three children and he manages his family business remotely in Arizona. He donates his spare time to causes such as Barrington Area Conservation Trust and the local riding club.
We had some concerns with Bryan’s willingness to work with others early on in his first term. We now are equally concerned with his motivations in seeking a second term, and this publication cannot in good conscience unreservedly endorse him.
Overall endorsements: The Daily Herald, Village President Martin McLaughlin and President Pro-Tem Colleen Konicek Hannigan have endorsed Bryan Croll, Brian Cecola and Debra Buettner for Trustees of Barrington Hills.
Cecola and Buettner have the unconditional support of The Barrington Hills Observer. Both have demonstrated a passion for our Village and willingness to serve our community. Both display the honesty, dedication and sound judgement that will represent the residents of Barrington Hills admirably for the next four years.
Early voting ends today, April 1. Election Day polls open tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM.
This is in response to the letter to the editor you published recently from retired public school teacher and former Barrington Hills village trustee Karen Selman.
I would like to correct the record. Ms. Selman’s inclusion of me and my family members in a letter to the editor is inappropriate, wrong and uninformed.
First, I have five incredible daughters, not two. The first four have attended TCU, Villanova, USC and yes, Northwestern due to their determination and hard work. My wife deserves all the credit, for her dedication working with our children on rigorous nightly homework routines over many years.
Interestingly, each of my children and many others in our great schools were able to succeed during a period without this proposed referendum.
I have not publicly stated a position in opposition or in favor of the District 220 referendum.
I was, however, part of the District 220 Referendum Advisory Committee, which — after more than 500 hours of volunteer community input — gave direction to the school board for the lowest amount presented, $158 million, which was quickly amended to $185 million by the school board.
I have publicly endorsed Deb Buettner, Brian Cecola and Brian Croll for Barrington Hills Village Trustee in the upcoming election. Your publication also has endorsed these three qualified volunteers. Thank you in advance for accepting my corrections.
Martin J. McLaughlin
Barrington Hills village president
The link to McLaughlin’s letter to the Daily Herald editor can be foundhere. The link to the former Trustee who McLaughlin refers to can be foundhere.
Early voting begins Monday, March 18th, and continues through Monday, April 1st. Click on the name of the county below for polling locations and times:
Two candidates for trustee advocate “live steaming” (broadcasting) for Board of Trustee meetings as well as some committee and commission meetings. May be a good idea, but at what cost?
Barrington CUSD 220 has been streaming their board meetings for many years. We’ve attended a few of those meetings, and there are usually at least two or more people working the camera(s), computer(s) and microphones.
Much time is spent setting up the equipment long before the start of each meeting, and then breaking down the setup afterwards.
Clearly, Village Hall meetings needn’t be this elaborate. Costs to live stream meetings have decreased given advances in technology, such as YouTube, but are they really cost effective? The answer is NO for our Village, and here’s why…
We’ve watched numerous District 220 meetings from the comfort of our homes using their YouTube channel. A counter on the screen indicates number of viewers at any given time, and that’s when the reality of true resident apathy hits home!
Approximately 9,000 students attend District 220 schools. Tens of thousands of potential viewers reside in communities from Tower Lakes to Hoffman Estates to Carpentersville to Deer Park and beyond, but for all that the District pays to live stream their meetings, can you guess how many viewers are actually tuned in? Nearly none!
We observed on average only 5-8 people watching a typical District 220 meeting. Chances were that 1/3 were students, 1/3 were reporters or salespeople and the rest too lazy to drive to the meeting. 5-8 people! (Imagine viewership in a community of only 4,200 residents – maybe 1 or 2 viewers for a meeting?)
Recordings are available on demand, so it is likely District 220 residents watch the meetings at their convenience, and as common sense might suggest, viewer totals per meeting may become more acceptable, but still not cost effective.
Barrington Hills has invested time and money in audio recording equipment to accommodate residents who cannot attend meetings. Recordings are usually available for review a few days after each meeting.
So, for those advocating live streaming meetings on the Village’s dime, we suggest a more cost effective alternative for those wanting the service.
Invest their own money for the ability to live stream meetings, and sell it to residents who wish to subscribe to your service. Chances are they won’t because they’d lose money from the start, which begs the question, why are they asking our Village to subsidize their personal (and likely selfish) needs?
Bryan Croll, Debra A. Buettner and Brian D. Cecola
In keeping with what is becoming something of a tradition in otherwise bucolic Barrington Hills, voters are being treated to a feisty race for the village board in the April 2 election.
Three trustee seats are up for election, and cameras seem to be a campaign focus one way or another.
We did not endorse Cecola and Croll when they first ran in 2015, but they have delivered on their campaign promises. Spending has been cut as has the village property tax levy, and the village website has been improved.
We endorse them for re-election. Buettner is a potentially good teammate with sound judgment and experience. She wins our endorsement, too
The Daily Herald publishes profiles of most people running for office. The following reflects the answers each of the five candidates supplied to questions be the Herald’s questions (click on the candidate’s name to read their responses):
Please take some time to review each candidate’s answers. Once again, the candidates names are listed above in the order they will appear on the ballot.
The Observer will be providing more election coverage in the coming weeks for all area election, as well as our candidate endorsements.
Come and prepare yourself for the upcoming April 2, 2019 election by attending a candidate forum for Barrington Hills and Barrington Village Trustees. Information about the School District 220 referendum will also be provided.
Five candidates will be vying for three seats on our Village Board of Trustees in the April 2nd Barrington Hills election in a few short weeks.
The first campaign mailer arrived in residents’ mailboxes this week. The websites are up, and soon, signs will appear in neighbor’s yards asking would-be residents to vote for his or her candidate(s).
When it comes to websites, we thought we’d share three that have emerged for this year’s campaign. They are listed in the order candidates names as the appear on the ballot:
One Barrington Hills: Incumbent Trustees Bryan Croll and Brian Cecola will be running with Zoning Board member Debra Buettner. To learn more about their cause, their website can be viewedhere.
Linda Cools 4 Trustee: Linda Cools ran for office two years ago as a write-in candidate. She is running independently, and her website can be viewedhere.
Vote Louis: Louis Iacovelli campaigned for Village President two years ago. This time he’s running independently for Village Trustee, and his website can be viewedhere.
Early voting begins on Monday, March 18th and runs through Election Day, April 2nd.
Last week we reposted an article from the McHenry County Blog announcing, “Elaine Ramesh appointed to Algonquin Township Board”.
