Smith tops Riverside Caucus ‘09 ticket

Riverside Landmark
12/2/2008

When Riverside residents exit the polling place next April they can be sure of one thing. No matter whom they voted for, the village board is going to look a whole lot different.

Of the four seats (three trustees and village president) up for election, just one incumbent is running and not for the seat he currently holds.

Recently, the Riverside Caucus, a nonpartisan group that recruits and chooses candidates for election to village office finalized its 2009 slate. Heading the ticket as a candidate for village president is Trustee Kevin Smith, who is finishing his second term in office.

Joining him and running as candidates for trustee are Kelly Navarro, David Lesniak and Tony Meizio.

Jenny White, president of the caucus, confirmed on Monday that the quartet had been selected by its nominating committee.

Village President Harold J. Wiaduck Jr., finishing his second term in that office, declined to elaborate on his reasons for not running at this time. Two-term Trustee Thomas Shields and one-term Trustee Candice Grace are also not seeking reelection.

Smith, elected in 2001 as an independent candidate, was endorsed by the caucus in his successful reelection bid in 2005.

While known as a trustee who advocates passionately for his point of view, Smith said that the role of president is that of a consensus builder, a role he says he feels comfortable in.

“Actually, I’m a consensus kind of guy,” Smith said. “As a trustee you can advocate for a point of view and try to persuade people. As president you have to be more neutral, calming, bringing people together.”

Smith, 60, has been an attorney for the Cook County Public Defender since 1976. A supervisor in the multiple defendant division, his office handles death penalty cases.

One reason he wants to be president, Smith said, is that he wants continuity on the board and doesn’t want work completed by the current board “undone.” On the other hand, he also realizes that some of the large-scale work done in the past eight years likely won’t be happening in the near future as economic times tighten.

He referred to the past eight years as a “golden age” for the Riverside village board, one in which the village undertook several large infrastructure projects (water and sewer improvements, the restoration of the water tower, building a new public works site), overseeing an almost complete revision of the residential and commercial zoning codes, and convincing voters to support a referendum funding a street resurfacing effort.

“I feel a sense of responsibility to the village and for the work we’ve done,” Smith said. “For the foreseeable future we won’t be able to do the things this board was able to do. It’s going to be much smaller and is going to call upon the village’s sense of volunteerism.”

Smith said his message to voters will be a positive one that will focus on the challenges ahead and not on battles of the past.

“We have to be open to new ideas and ways of managing in a new environment that the economy has dealt us,” Smith said. “I think the village deserves quality employees and services, and we have to figure out a way to do that.”

As for trustee candidates, Lesniak has the most experience from a municipal government point of view, having served for six years on the Plan Commission, of which he is currently chairman.

During his time on the commission, Lesniak, 50, was involved with all of the zoning revision efforts in Riverside. A senior project manager with the general contracting firm Bulley & Andrews LLC, Lesniak said that as the zoning revisions wrap up, he’s ready for the next step, which is “to become more involved in the overall political process and budgeting of the town.”

Meizio (pronounced MAY-zee-oh) is a newcomer to the Riverside political scene, though he has long been involved in other organizations in the village. The 42-year-old insurance broker has been active at Riverside Presbyterian Church as a member of its finance committee and is also active with Seguin Services.

Navarro is a veteran prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Locally, she has been involved with the Riverside Junior Woman’s Charity.

Source: Riverside Landmark December 2nd 2008
By: Bob Uphues, Editor