Candidates have released their platforms for the April election, where three trustee and village president positions are up for grabs in Riverside.
With an independent looking to focus on business and tourism, and the established parties indicating fiscal responsibility will be a core focus, money issues appear to be in the forefront of all candidates.
The Riverside Community Alliance, a slate including Mike Gorman, candidate for village president, and Jim Reynolds, Lonnie Sacchi and Mark Shevitz as candidates for trustees, announced their platform with fiscal responsibility ranking first.
“I think everything starts with the budget,” Shevitz said. “That is why it is the No. 1 thing. With the increased spending over the last six to seven years, there is room and need to do a line-by-line audit and make sure everything is spent accordingly.”
The goal is to identify efficient options for services with the hope of increasing the current service level, Shevitz said.
The next important issue on the RCA’s platform is creating sustainable businesses in downtown Riverside. Shevitz said the goal is to have businesses the residents are excited to support.
“All of our opponents are counting on people from La Grange or Naperville to shop in our downtown in order for it to be successful,” Sacchi said. “Riverside Community Alliance is the only group of candidates that wants to create a downtown that can and will be supported by Riverside residents.”
A final issue is open and transparent government, which is critical, Shevitz said. The government should be transparent and accountable to residents and voters. Examples such as putting the village’s checkbook online or having board meetings online will help communication between residents and the village, Shevitz said.
Alex Gallegos, running as an independent for a trustee position on the Village Board, said bringing business to Riverside and opening the village up for tourism are his top priorities.
Introducing more live entertainment and restaurant options will bring people off the train and encourage them to stay, Gallegos said.
“Where trainloads of people from La Grange, Naperville and other towns come for the live entertainment and they’ll stay and eat in our restaurants, drink our martinis and shop in our stores,” Gallegos said in his platform.
This is the first time Gallegos has run for position on the Village Board. He has been on the Chamber of Commerce for five years. He said the theme of his platform is “enough is enough.”
The Riverside Party and the RCA are dividing the residents, Gallegos said.
“We can not move forward with these two bitter groups playing tug of war with the village residents,” he said.
The Riverside Party, a slate including Trustee Kevin Smith as candidate for village president, and David Lesniak, Anthony Miezio and Kelly Navarro for trustees, believe in the individuality of each member and setting the village apart from other municipalities.
“Each candidate has a different emphasis and things they would like to accomplish,” Smith said. “We aren’t speaking in a monolithic voice.”
The Riverside Party noted protecting the natural beauty of the village, preserving financial security in an unstable economy, revitalizing the village business district, increasing public awareness of village government, maintaining public facilities and maximizing their values as the most important issues for the village.
Preserving the financial security of the village is of utmost importance and if that is not tended to, nothing can be done for the village, Smith said.
“We are different that the Riverside Party comes from a base of having actually dealt with budgetary issues,” Smith said. “What you are getting with the RCA, they will reinvent the wheel.”
