Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The first of four candidates forums for those seeking office in the Village of Park Forest will be held Sunday, January 13 at 1:00 p.m. at Village Hall. This forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Park Forest Area.
As of now, there remain four candidates on the ballot for Mayor of Park Forest (listed alphabetically): Mae Brandon, 28 Braeburn Drive; JeRome Brown, 514 Blair Street; Renee Hawthorne, 440 Indianwood Boulevard; and Jonathan Vanderbilt, 244 Krotiak Road.
For Village Trustee, there are three people running for three open seats: Tiffani Graham, 144 26th Street; Candyce Herron, 216 Ash Street; and Joseph Woods, 3165 Western Avenue.
There are three people running for three open seats for Library Trustee: Marcus Hampton, 57 Ash Street; Linda E. Marron, 151 Main Street; and Keith Supler, 239 Juniper.
The complete list of forums leading up to Election Day follows:
- Sunday, January 13 1:00 p.m. Village Hall— League of Women Voters
- Sunday, February 3 Library Candidates Only 1:30 p.m. Park Forest Library—League of Women Voters
- Sunday, March 3 1:00 p.m. Village Hall—Host TBD
- Sunday, March 17 1:00 p.m. Village Hall—Park Forest Cooperatives
Tuesday, April 2 is Election Day. The Non-Partisan Committee will hold its annual Membership Meeting the following Saturday, April 6, at 10:30 a.m. in Village Hall.
Purpose of the Non-Partisan Committee Candidate Forums
In 1955 the Committee for Non-Partisan Local Government in Park Forest was established as a not-for-profit organization.
The Committee began when the young Village of Park Forest made a bold step by eliminating party politics from all local elections as then Village President Henry Dietch declared “there is no Democratic way of picking up garbage. There is no Republican way of cleaning the streets.”
Since then Park Forest has maintained a gold standard in all local elections, allowing candidates for office to run on their merits and are voted upon by all residents of the community. In order to insure this process the all-volunteer Park Forest Non-Partisan Local Government Committee was established in 1955.
The Committee’s task is to make it convenient for any qualified resident to run for office at little expense and regardless of race, creed, sex, age, or political party. To this, the Committee gives voters numerous opportunities to hear all candidates and ask them questions in open meetings and forums.
