Fiscal responsibility has become a core focus for both the Riverside Party and the Riverside Community Alliance. With budget cuts and recent worries on managing finances while maintaining services, each established party’s presidential candidate has vowed to become transparent himself with hopes to prove one slate is more revealing than another.

Trustee and village president candidate Kevin Smith was first to release his personal and financial information in a Jan. 27 press release to further the party’s pledge of increasing public awareness of village government.

Smith has worked as an attorney, educator and village trustee for more than 30 years. He included a few Web sites in his press release and suggested using Google, which will show proof of licensure, salary and trial work.

“I think voters need to know what your background is so they can evaluate what level of experience and expertise you are bringing to the job,” Smith said.

Smith then challenged the RCA’s Village President candidate Mike Gorman to reveal his resume and financial information.

On Feb. 2, Gorman released his own statement in reference to Smith’s press release concerning transparency — insisting he had nothing to hide and was ready to tell-all in his first election campaign.

Gorman has an active license from the Supreme Court of Illinois, as of 1979. He was a certified public accountant from 1973 to 1976. Since serving on the village’s Long-Term Finance Committee, his resume has been publicly available since January 2007, according to Gorman.

“This is an effort by Mr. Smith to divert attention way from the issues,” Gorman said. “Everything that is contained in that press release has been publicly available his entire career.”

Gorman continued to emphasize Smith did not release any new information and was not quite sure why his opponent wanted to reveal this in a press release after eight years.

“He has been in office for eight years and all of a sudden he feels the pressure from the RCA and feels the transparency and open government,” Gorman said.

Being open is how Smith has approached his professional and elected life, Smith said, and suggesting it is “just now” a way for Gorman to divert attention.

Gorman and Smith also have different ideas as to how transparent the current Village Board is and how revealing personal information helps prove openness.

Smith said the current Village Board is transparent and its ability to increase is growing all the time.

“The information has always been there,” Smith said. “It is how it is delivered and accessed rather than whether or not you can get the information.”

Discovering who the candidates are, by revealing personal information, allows voters a way to evaluate someone as candidate for office, Smith said.

Gorman said he was disappointed in Smith’s attempt to personally attack a candidate. Smith said he was just looking for an even playing field.

By Janice Hoppe
Riverside Suburban Life
Mon Feb 09, 2009