Who I Support in the April 1, 2025 Election

In some past local election cycles, there’s been a robust discussion on this website. Not so much this time around, and, in defense of our members and the public, times have changed, and it has become risky, many feel, to even venture opinions online.

Nevertheless, because I’m asked often who I support for this or that, I’ll be public, and why. Because I hail from a time when people could disagree and still be friends, not to mention civil, comments are welcome whether in agreement or disagreement.

For mayor of Evanston:
I have no hesitation in voting for Jeff Boarini. Not only is he a genuinely nice guy with some management chops we could use at the City, he is the first candidate in a while to put residents front and center. An historic issue for Evanston, with all its desirable characteristics — the lake, transportation, a quick commute to Chicago, trees, a commitment to housing, relative prosperity — is that there are those who want to make a home here, as opposed to forces who want to use Evanston to make money or advance other interests. Jeff not only lives here but has deep respect for those who value Evanston as home, and he will be a champion for the diverse neighborhoods we all cherish. His background in marketing will be an asset as Evanston and its schools work to improve brand. However, most important is that he will be doing that work for its own sake, not for awards or headlines. Smarts and knowledge are different, and while Jeff is smart enough, he also has a key intelligence, to listen when you need to learn. Purely from a neighborhood standpoint, his answers on aspects of the Central Street Plan are the superior ones. I look forward to four calmer years with Jeff Boarini as mayor, which we could all use.

I’ve known Daniel Biss quite a while and have supported him multiple times with votes, checks, and hours of volunteer work. I could do so again in another context. He’s one of the smartest I’ve met, charismatic, often funny, and our values largely align. But he should not have run for mayor of Evanston; that was opportunism. The cascading disasters of the last four years — the lifeguard scandal, the revolving door of city managers, corporation counsel, and other top staff, the cold disregard of neighborhood, precedent, and fairness in the crass Ryan Field deal, the manipulation of the planning process and tone-deaf chainsaw approach to Evanston zoning, the privatization of Harley Clarke, the rash flight from the Civic Center, the overspending on everything from leases to dog beaches, poor appointments while forcing or keeping good people out of government and even volunteer roles — add up to too much to warrant re-election. Too many residents of Evanston, as important as any other constituency, have been kicked to the curb during recent years. Those who expected the Biss years to be an upgrade from the previous four have been shocked and hurt, repeatedly.

Losing an election isn’t the end of the world or even a political career. Lincoln did it plenty of times. One of my baseball heroes once said you only learn from your losses, not your victories. I think a loss could be good for both Daniel Biss and for Evanston.

For Councilmember, 6th Ward:
The 6th Ward should re-elect Tom Suffredin. I disregard all the noise about ethics in this race from either side. What stands out to me is that Tom, along with Clare Kelly (1st), has been the most consistent civic watchdog on the Council, refusing to drink the Kool-Aid of endless growth in spending and refusing to join in the club that lectures residents from the dais. He sometimes shoots from the hip, but you know what you’ll get. The charges about missing meetings fall short because all Councilmembers get a passing grade on that, 98% of Council business passes unanimously, and I can’t think of a single important issue where Tom’s absence meant the difference on a key vote. His October, 2023 summary of the stadium controversy in a wardwide letter was one of the more frank and courageous statements I’ve seen, given the financial power of the forces to which he was standing up — as demonstrated by the money we now see being spent to capture his seat and that of the other three Councilmembers who voted against the deal. His support of the Central Street Plan’s ideals and mechanics is greatly appreciated. Finally, Tom has been one of the few elected officials I can think of to show up at a CSNA meeting where he wasn’t the featured speaker, but just sit in the audience and listen. City Council needs to be a diversity of points of view, not an echo chamber, and Tom Suffredin serves a valuable role in what can be a thankless job.

Candance Chow is smart and personable. With the school district she once led now in crisis, I thought she should have run for a spot there, gone back and finished the job she left. It’s hard to reconcile Candance running for City Council after being MIA from a lot of grassroots City fights where neighbors could have used her help, and everyone should be aware there are forces who want to completely rid the Council of resistance to NU and developers and their allies. I do respect anyone who helps out CPAH. She is also supported by those who think Tom Suffredin is a little too rough-edged to have over for tea; what I noticed in the many negative mailings was how little substantive criticism there was of his actual positions. I like Candance and made a small contribution to defray her legislative run a few years back. I dismiss ethics charges relating to that campaign as rookie mistakes; the questions about hiring now-departed Supt. Devon Horton, and silence as problems unfolded, are more troubling. But that was an entire Board fail, not just ex-President Chow's; the real question for me for Council is who will fight for our ward and especially its seniors and homeowners. Tom has shown he'll do that.

For Councilmember, 7th Ward:
I don’t live in the 7th but if I did I would vote for Parielle Davis. This is a high-quality race between two smart candidates. Kerry Mundy has shown a great learning curve. Software engineer Parielle Davis is a natural leader and gets the nod for courage, intelligence, and proven effectiveness in the stadium discussion, because fighting City Hall is never easy or rewarding. Her law degree would also be useful on a Council that often isn’t concerned enough with dotting the I’s. When I appeared with her on WTTW in 2023, long before she was running, I thought to myself, “This is someone who ought to be on City Council.” If Mr. Mundy loses, I hope to see him on a City board or commission.

For School Board (District 65) (vote for four):
Sorting through 12 candidates isn’t easy. Nor is running in a group of 12, opportunities to get all your message out is limited. It’s great for Evanston and a credit to its civic spirit that so many people stepped up to deal with the mess that the District has become on multiple levels. This group actually sports a large number of candidates who impress on at least a couple fronts, or with particular skill sets. So, that said, to some degree the tough but necessary winnowing comes down to nuance. One of the reasons the District is in trouble is that candidates have run on mushy platforms that all sound the same, for fear of ruffling any feathers, and then once on the Board don’t ask the hard questions, and tend to align with staff against parents (not to mention non-parent taxpayers).

Between my wife and myself, we’ve waded through every Evanston Roundtable video and multiple questionnaires from different groups, and I sent them a few of my own. Brandon Utter, Peter Bogira, and Maria Opdycke will get votes from our household. These smart, qualified candidates stand out as respecting parents and other residents, and for their willingness to listen rather than lecture. Maria's service to others and grace under recent pressure commend her highly. Peter thinks through issues and will bring warmth and engagement to the Board. Brandon has needed experience with large agency budgets, and by profession serves others in need. Politics has no shortage of ideology or certitude; what our civics needs is more empathy, and I hope this trio will add that to the Board.

We are still deciding on the fourth vote (and might split). Patricia Anderson would add the diversity of long perspective and experience to an otherwise largely-millennial Board. Nichole Pinkard shows the measured thoughtfulness you would expect from an NU academic. Randy Steckman would truly diversify the Board because the ability to question construction costs is rare in local government; if he is unsuccessful, the District should immediately put him on a committee charged with this.

Note: I'm told that to find Maria on the electronic ballot you have to scroll all the way down to the bottom.

May the best candidates for Evanston win, and good luck and no hard feelings to all!

-- Jeff Smith

The above blog entry is the personal opinion of the author and not the official view of Central Street Neighbors Association, which takes no poisiton in this election.

This post was updated 4/1/25 to not conflate Candance Chow's presidency with her departure from the Board; she was no longer President when she quit in 2020. She was on the Board when it voted unanimously in 2019 to hire Devon Horton but, according to a letter circulated by her supporters in north Evanston yesterday, did not quit the presidency but was forced out of that role by other Board members.