With the Riverside Community Caucus sitting out the 2019 Consolidated Election, it will be up to individual Riverside trustee candidates to either collect signatures ahead of the mid-December filing period or band together with others to form a slate.
As of Oct. 8, no other local political committees had been created to raise money to support any candidate’s campaign for office, according to the Illinois Board of Elections website.
But at least one incumbent Riverside trustee, Michael Sedivy, confirmed over the weekend that he was considering a run for a second term despite the absence of the Caucus, which supported his candidacy in 2015.
“The Caucus historically has done an excellent job recruiting residents to serve the village,” said Sedivy in an Oct. 6 email in response to questions from the Landmark. “The organization’s assistance in the logistics of the electoral process is invaluable and will be sorely missed in this election cycle, as the requirements can be quite daunting.”
Sedivy stated that he has had discussions with other residents, whom he did not name, on running as a slate “solely for efficiency purposes in navigating the electoral candidate logistical requirements.”
The other two incumbent trustees are Joseph Ballerine and Scott Lumsden, both of whom told the Landmark last week that they still have not decided whether or not to run for re-election. Both had the support of the caucus in 2015 and formed a slate with Sedivy to run that year.
“The jury is still out,” Lumsden said of his prospects for running. “This job requires a lot of time, and you want to do it well. I certainly have enjoyed being a steward.”
While Lumsden said the Caucus’ assistance was invaluable in recruiting candidates and navigating the process, their absence wouldn’t rule out a run for re-election.
“That probably wouldn’t make my decision up,” he said.
Ballerine also told the Landmark he’s undecided on running for a third consecutive term as a village trustee.
Unopposed in both 2011 and 2015, Ballerine previously served two years as a trustee in the 1990s when he was appointed to fill a vacancy. In addition, Ballerine spent 15 years as a member and past-chairman of the Riverside Parks and Recreation Board.
“It’s 50-50 right now,” Ballerine said for another run. “I’m hoping Mike [Sedivy] and Scott [Lumsden] will.”
Prior to the Caucus deciding to sidestep the 2019 election, Ballerine was not scheduled to be interviewed by the Caucus nominating committee, because of a Caucus by-law limiting their support of candidate to two consecutive terms.
“There are a lot of great, qualified people in Riverside,” Ballerine said.
