The Maine Township Republican Unity Slate has been pushing hard to turn out the vote in the April 4 election for its candidates: Laura Morask running for supervisor, Peter Gialamas for clerk, Susan Moylan Krey for assessor, Walter Kazmierczak for highway commissioner and Kimberly Jones, Kelly Schaefer, David Carrabotta and Susan Sweeney for trustee seats.
Morask, Krey, and Kazmierczak are shoo-in candidates as they are running unopposed.
The slate, which stands as a group for core GOP principles such as not raising taxes on residents, touts a mix of both experienced public servants and fresh new faces on the ballot. The candidates have stated their commitment to efficient management of public funds and their vested interest in the community.
“We know that every hard earned penny counts and have been one of the only local governments to consistently balance our budget, keep the property tax levy flat, all while operating with zero debt,” the group said on its website. “Keeping the tax levy flat means that Maine Township did not ask you, the taxpayer, for more money!”
Citizens with a passion for politics have been working to promote the Maine Township Republican Unity Slate as well with letters to the editor appearing in various publications. Dan Patlak, the sole Republican re-elected to a four-year term as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review last November, has recently endorsed the slate in his own public letter to the editor.
“I strongly encourage Maine Township residents to support the Maine Township Republican Unity Slate," Patlak wrote. "This new slate mixes the fresh ideas and enthusiasm of several newcomers with the experience and continuity of those who are currently serving well,” he wrote before detailing some of the experience and expertise the slate candidates offer to voters.
“With this cross-section of community involvement and experience, the Maine Township Republican Unity Slate will make fiscally responsible and common-sense decisions while delivering the quality services Maine Township residents deserve. I urge you to cast a vote for each one of them,” Patlak said in the letter to the editor.
Even those too young to actually cast a ballot are taking part in the political discourse. Emma Biggins of Park Ridge, a 17-year-old junior at Main South High School, sent her own letter endorsing Schaefer for trustee.
“Kelly is the most hardworking, dedicated, and level-headed person I know,” Biggins, who says Schaefer will be getting votes from her household, said in the letter. The letter went on to explain that Schaefer has played a supportive role in Biggins' life after the passing of her mother. “Kelly has instilled in me great values, morals, hard work, knowledge and most of all love. Kelly is the epitome of what Maine Township needs and what we in Park Ridge should be,” Biggins said in the letter.
Maine Township Supervisor Carol Teschky endorsed the GOP slate as well and offered her support after serving alongside Morask, Gialamas, Kazmierczak, Krey, Jones and Schaefer.
“I can vouch for their complete dedication and commitment to hard work at Maine Township on behalf of our residents and especially seniors, families and veterans,” Teschky said in a letter to the editor. “In this age where townships are under attack for what some believe is duplication in government, it is imperative that we elect pro township people to office.”
Whether or not the Maine Township Republican Unity Slate’s efforts will pay off at the polls remains to be seen. The effort and the endorsements from local and regional citizens and officials will likely continue up until voters cast their ballots April 4.
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