The Downers Grove Area School Board Caucus is apparently defunct after nearly 50 years of vetting school board candidates, but two new committees are stepping in to provide that service for Downers Grove voters.
A caucus principal said there are no plans to hold a caucus this year. During the 2007 campaign, the caucus came under fire from D99 incumbents who charged it had been “crashed” by members of the Keep Green Space Green committee and other Woodridge residents and its endorsement process “hijacked.”
Among those who resigned in protest from the 2007 caucus was Stephen Daniels, a long-time caucus participant, president of the Downers Grove library board of trustees and president of the Downers Grove Community Advocates.
Daniels’ is one of eight names that appear on the letterhead of the new Community School Board Endorsement Committee, which reportedly is soliciting D99 candidates for individual interviews on Feb. 15 and 22 and March 1.
“The CEC will interview all interested candidates and publicly share endorsements of those individuals who are committed to serving the broadest public interest of the school district,” according to a letter from the organization that went out to candidates.
I recognized other committee members listed on the letterhead – including former School Board Caucus member Pat Vlcek – as community minded volunteers. Another, Jim Venckus, also is associated with DG Cares, which organized a couple of months ago to advocate “strong Downers Grove public schools and a strong community” by endorsing D58 candidates and encouraging voter participation.
A 17-member DG Cares committee comprised of representatives from Downers Grove elementary and middle schools is scheduled to interview D58 candidates tonight.
I’ve attempted to reach both Daniels and CEC Chairman Rich Matthies in an effort to learn more about the Community School Board Endorsement Committee and will update this post as more information becomes available.
How do I get on the new Community School Board Endorsement Committee? I am a male caucasian living in Downers Grove.
How do I create my own caucus?? Is there any official filings with any election committee stating officers, agendas, etc??
If those are the members of this new caucus, I would bet President Obama’s $1,000,000,000,000 (that’s one trillion, just had to see all of the zeros) stimulus plan allocation that Julia Kennedy-Beckman’s name is already printed on the endorsement press release, if not all other incumbents.
I am announcing that I am creating the Sheep Shearers for Transparent School Board Candidates Caucus, and welcome all (maybe not all) members to join….details and forums to come.
You write that Stephen Daniels was among those who resigned in protest from the 2007 caucus. Did he quit right at the beginning or did he participate in the full caucus, ask questions of candidates, vote with the other caucus members, and then “resign” only after voting and seeing the results?
I don’t believe that was the case, Businessman.
According to my notes of an interview held with Daniels on March 28, 2007, he said he resigned from the D99 caucus because it was “stacked” by representatives of Woodridge and the KeepGreenSpaceGreen organization.
He said “it had pretty much wound up as a single-issue matter on the (Woodridge) land” despite other important issues confronting the district, such as the district budget, the search for a new superintendent and the impact of No Child Left Behind.
He wasn’t suggesting that KGSG shouldn’t have a place at the table, only that the caucus “is supposed to represent the entire community–not a single partisan interest or agenda,” as stated in its bylaws.
He said he and Pat Vlcek had raised these issues before voting. There ensued a discussion on whether the caucus was valid, followed by a “straight up” vote on whether to continue with the caucus or close it down, he told me. “The vast majority wanted to continue.”
Daniels told me the rules governing the caucus were only viable if the participants agreed to abide by them. “No one polices caucuses. It’s the good intentions and integrity of the people involved that you rely upon.”
So did Daniels vote for candidates to endorse and did he remain in the room while the votes were counted? Did he “resign” before voting and leave the room or did he vote?
I don’t know. Why does it matter two years after the fact?
Let’s see what his organization(s) does this year. That’s what matters now.
EJ, Sorry, I didn’t realize there was a statute of limitations. You mentioned the 2007 Dist 99 campaign in your original post that started the thread. You then quoted an interview from March 28, 2007. Are we no longer allowed to mention that election or year? Is that a privelege reserved by the moderator?
A person’s past actions are the best indicator available to help us predict that person’s future actions. Even Mark Thoman knows that.
There’s no statute of limitations, if you want to put it that way.
I was just relaying the information I had at hand by way of background.
If/when I talk to Daniels, I will ask him about current issues, because that’s what most concerns me now.
EJ, Is Daniels your only source of information? Perhaps that doesn’t matter for a blog, but I was thinking of it as something like journalism, where you might ask several people about events instead of relying on only one who has an obviously biased view.
I don’t know how many people were at the caucus you wrote about, but you appeared to not contact any of them except one guy whose friend didn’t get endorsed. If there was a crowd of folks from Woodridge there it wouldn’t be hard to find them, they grunt and scratch their butts a lot. (Think of Mark Thoman, but a little more attractive.)
“Why does it matter two years after the fact?
Let’s see what _____________ does this year. That’s what matters now.” EJ, that’s the incumbent politician’s excuse for everything. Blago will be saying that when he runs for national office in a couple years.
Oh boy, Businessman, you’re making me sorry I stirred up that hornet’s nest again.
To answer your question: Two years ago, I spoke with three people who were present at the caucus.
Could their views be “biased?” Of course.
Could/should I have talked to more participants, particularly those from Woodridge? Maybe, but grunting and butt-scratching aside, I don’t know who they are. However, this is a blog, so they’re welcome to step forward and recount their memory of events here at their convenience.
Actually, your comments only serve to highlight my point in the above post: That it’s essential to understand the people behind endorsement and their criteria for selection involves.
I’ve been in contact with the CEC, but was told they will be sending a release to the newspapers next week. I asked if the DGreport could be included in the distribution and was told I could get the release through my editor at the Sun.
So that’s where it stands for now.
I sat on that caucus and afterwards felt like a pawn in a much larger game. It was my first experience and I was there to do a good job, the right thing, etc. When Pat Vlk and I guess this Daniels guy stood up and declared the whole thing a farce I about took their heads off (I am sure they are lovely people). The reason: I spent HOURS AND HOURS OF MY SUNDAYS AWAY FROM MY FAMILY to work on this thing. They wait till it’s ALL over and then right before the vote declare the caucus a fraud or whatever they said… OMG! I was SO mad!!! Waste my time for all those weeks and then say it!! Why not say it from DAY ONE and then ask if I want to be on it or not?! I could go on but the high blood pressure and recovering from stomach flu I don’t think mix…
So who are the other four?
Will Julia Beckman and the other incumbents receive the same favorable treatment in the CEC exercise that they did in the 2007 Downers Grove Area School Board Caucus? It’s scary that they were not endorsed in spite of the extra help they got, but I doubt it will happen again.
Are the rules for the CEC escapade available?