Endorsements 2005
In making our endorsements for the three trustee spots up for election in Brookfield on April 5, we attempted to take the poisonous political atmosphere out of the equation, and judge candidates solely on their knowledge of the issues facing the village in the next four years and their ability to constructively work with people who may have opposing viewpoints on the board.
The result is that we feel your votes should be cast for incumbent trustees Kit Ketchmark and Wil Brennan and new candidate Catherine Colgrass Edwards.
These three candidates have a perspective on the issues facing Brookfield that far outpace their competitors for the position. All are qualified, and all have the ability and knowledge to be leaders on the board.
When it comes to providing a true independent viewpoint on the board, Kit Ketchmark has weathered bitter political attacks during the last four years. Yet, he has been an unwavering vocal force on a board that has needed a watchdog badly.
He has kept his eye on the ball regarding the village’s budget situation throughout his term, and has served as a welcome conscience. He is routinely cast as a villain by opponents, and has suffered the indignities of a censure and, presently, a trumped-up investigation as the result of blowing the whistle on the CVS loan deal.
Don’t believe it. Ketchmark works in the interest of taxpayers, not against them. He demands accountability from the majority, a stance that may make him unpopular at the board table, but ought to serve him well with voters.
It would be interesting to see what a truly independent Wil Brennan would be like on the Brookfield village board. One day he may run to be president of Brookfield, and we wonder why he has waited to do so.
Of all the candidates the VIP Party has put up for election, Brennan is the one who strikes us as having the best chance to work as a member of either a minority or majority on the board. Although he has shown streaks of political vindictiveness, we feel that with a change in leadership in the village president’s seat, that trait may well take a back seat.
Along with Ketchmark, he has the best handle on understanding the village’s budget situation and has the ability to work in cooperation with other trustees to make hard, realistic decisions regarding Brookfield’s financial future.
Catherine Colgrass Edwards has the experience of working as a department head inside village hall. She understands the budgeting process and understands the way local government is supposed to work and how it is supposed to serve taxpayers.
She has worked and can work with members of both political parties, and we feel she will be a voice of reason on the board. Her main passion is not a political party but the Village of Brookfield.
Her experience running the village’s Recreation Department will add a new dimension to what must inevitably become an important issue in the next four years. With the acquisition of new park property last year, Brookfield has to be able to formulate a parks policy and address issues of park development and improvement on a consistent basis.
Above all, we urge Brookfielders to begin taking bitter politics out of the equation on April 5, and vote simply for those best qualified to lead the village into the future.
Raddatz for clerk
Until Dan Raddatz announced he was switching political parties last August, it was impossible to tell exactly which party he actually belonged to. As village clerk, that’s pretty high praise.
While spending most of his term as a member of the VIP Party, Raddatz was able to serve independently for the entire board. As a member of PEP, we have no reason believe that he will act any differently.
He has worked hard to educate himself about the position and has done a creditable job in the time he has served the village. He deserves reelection on April 5.
Raddatz has also stated a need for the village to hire a full-time professional deputy clerk in order to best serve the village, and we agree that position should be reinstated at village hall or that the clerk’s position simply become a full-time paid position with a qualified, independent clerk at the helm.