2005 Wednesday Journal Endorsements
We enthusiastically endorse Sandra Sokol for her fourth term as village clerk. Sokol has an amazing ability to get along with a wide spectrum of people. She is even-handed, fair, caring and never shows any sign of favoritism?#34;among board members or citizens. She is an independent thinker who is not judgmental.
We believe she brings a sense of stability and institutional memory to village hall and the village board that Oak Park can’t afford to lose right now. We fully trust her to ethically manage public documents, and we would even like to see the village manager’s office turn over more control to her. We, like Sokol, believe the position of clerk should remain an elected one. And we look forward to her serving another four years.
? Sharon Patchak-Layman has a unique vision for the role of village clerk. We appreciate her enthusiasm for freedom of information rights. And we like that she would consider it part of her job to be a guardian of the Open Meetings Act. In short, we don’t think village hall would go to hell in a hand basket if she were elected.
We do, however, believe Sokol is a better choice, largely because of her ability to work effectively with a wide variety of people. And the fact that Patchak-Layman would remain on the District 97 board while serving as clerk still troubles us.
