Two River Forest residents vying as write-in candidates for village clerk have similar community involvement credentials.
Kathleen White and Calvin Davis have been involved in school and youth-centered activities.
Now they want to parlay their skills and knowledge and engage in the lone-voting role on the board of trustees. The winner would replace Sharon Halperin, who served for one four-year term.
Both say they understand the responsibilities of the position.
“The clerk will attend and call the role for all meetings, work with village staff to ensure that the agenda and meeting minutes are prepared and distributed,” said White, a health paraeducator at Lyons Township High School. “Records also need to be kept according to law. The clerk is also invited to offer public comments during the opening portion of the meeting.”
Davis agreed, and adding “the clerk is the one person who should always be in attendance at the meetings,” said the commodities broker, who also is running for park district commissioner.
Both also view the clerk as offering information to the public.
“There could be opportunities for [the clerk] to be another unbiased person on the board to be a source of information to the public,” said White, who said she would talk with Village President Catherine Adduci and others before undertaking anything new.
The clerk also should be able to provide “a non-biased explanation of current issues before the board on a regular basis,” said Davis, who is also running for a seat on the River Forest Park District board.
To tackle the job, if she’s elected, White said she would want to learn the ins and outs about the job and also reach out to the Municipal Clerks of Illinois, a professional association. She would want to make the most of the job, she said.
“Perhaps I could shadow Halperin a bit,” White said. “That would shorten the learning curve.
“It’s a time commitment. It’s important to the governance of River Forest. It could be great if I’m able to do it.”
Being clerk would be a challenge. As far as meeting the challenge, Davis said his approach would be in line with how he accomplished other endeavors.
“Participating as an elected official has always been of interest to me and it will be an honor to serve River Forest in this capacity,” Davis said. “It will be an interesting experience to participate on the other side. It will offer a new view for me, certainly. I take these responsibilities very seriously and have always followed through and risen to the next challenge.”
