The Riverside Community Caucus voted over the weekend to endorse trustees Cristin Evans and Jill Mateo and newcomer Sharon Leamy as candidates for the three open village trustee seats in April’s consolidated municipal election. The RCC passed over Trustee Alex Gallegos, who said he plans to run independently to retain his seat.
Evans and Mateo are incumbent trustees who were first elected in 2019 and 2023, respectively. Gallegos was also first elected in 2019. Leamy is a newcomer to Riverside’s village government. Evans, Mateo and Gallegos were all endorsed by the RCC in their previous elections.
Tim Daly, the chair of the caucus, said on Tuesday that the RCC will endorse Evans, Mateo and Leamy over Gallegos. A statement announcing the endorsements is expected to be released Tuesday afternoon on the RCC’s Facebook page, Daly said.
“The membership of the Riverside Community Caucus picked the three individuals they felt most strongly represent the kind of leadership they are looking for in the next board,” Daly said in a text message.
Gallegos told the Landmark said “it didn’t really faze [him]” to learn he did not earn the caucus’s endorsement.
“I got the word on Sunday. I had always planned on running independently regardless, just as I have in the past, with and without a caucus endorsement,” Gallegos said. “I enjoy serving the public as a trustee. While I appreciate the work the caucus has done, it’s really up to the residents to ultimately decide who they want working for them on the village board.”
Gallegos said he felt his involvement and accomplishments in Riverside made a strong case for his reelection, from helping resuscitate the Chamber of Commerce and Riverside Arts Weekend following the COVID-19 pandemic to his work leading the planning committee for Riverside’s 150th anniversary celebrations last year alongside Trustee Aberdeen Marsh-Ozga and the annual regatta.
Gallegos is now planning a summit for Riverside’s nonprofit leaders to come together in January to discuss increasing volunteering and fundraising efforts in the face of ongoing stability crises.
“My fiduciary responsibility as a trustee is to make sure residents enjoy living here, and I truly enjoy volunteering,” Gallegos said. “I’m looking at the work that [the village board has] ahead in getting a referendum for the new municipal building this spring, but I will also take this election as a referendum for my service from the residents. Perhaps my volunteering may no longer be necessary.”
Leamy said she was “thrilled” to learn she had received an endorsement from the RCC.
“I could not have been more honored by that, but I was in awe and shock, too. I went in [to the forum] to speak and just to be who I am, and I felt that, whatever the outcome was, I would be OK,” Leamy told the Landmark. “I am looking at this as a way to give back to a place that I love, that my family loves. We feel we are blessed to live here, and if I have the opportunity to do something for this community, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
In emailed statements, Evans and Mateo both said they were glad to have earned the RCC’s endorsement.
“I’m proud to have the RCC endorsement for village trustee. Serving our community has been an honor, and I’m excited for the opportunity to serve residents for another term,” Evans wrote.
“The caucus recruited a great slate of candidates this year and asked important questions about villagegovernment during the forum. I’m honored to once again have the endorsement of the caucus, and hope to earn the votes of my fellow residents in April,” Mateo wrote.
