CAUCUS Looking for New Officers - Letter to the Editor

Submitted to The Hinsdalean, The Doings & Suburban Life November 30, 2009

Dear Editor: 

 

I am writing this letter in my role as Chairman of the Officers Nominating Committee of Hinsdale Village Caucus.  The Caucus is currently seeking persons who may be interested in serving as a Caucus officer during the next bi-annual term.

 

The Hinsdale Caucus is a non-partisan organization, open to all residents of six geographic sections of Hinsdale and School District 181.  Every election cycle, interested participants from each section are randomly selected to serve as Delegates, then randomly assigned to four distinct Nominating Committees. The Nominating Committees are tasked with identifying, recruiting, interviewing and selecting highly qualified candidates for elected positions within the Village of Hinsdale, School District 181 and the Hinsdale Library.   Additional information may be found on the Caucus’ website, www.hinsdalecaucus.org.

 

Over the past 75 years, the Hinsdale Caucus has played a key role in allowing "the office to seek the person" rather than relying only on the traditional electoral approach where the “person seeks the office,” i.e. self-selected candidates choose to run for office. 

 

The Village Caucus has five officers who serve staggered two year terms.  We are now seeking individuals who may be interested in serving in a Caucus leadership role as either the Chair, Vice-Chair and Communications Secretary.

 

For further details, interested persons should email hinsdalecaucus@gmail.com; or feel free to recommend a qualified friend, neighbor or acquaintance.  We would like to hear from potentially interested parties by Friday, December 18, 2009.

 

The Caucus has no political agenda other than to recruit highly qualified candidates for local office. If you have previously been a Caucus Delegate, I hope you will consider serving as a Caucus officer (or as a future Delegate, if you have never done so); it is rewarding opportunity to meet and collaborate with your friends and neighbors and to “give back” to your community.

 

Sincerely Yours,

Dale Kleber

 

Caucus Cynic Impressed with Nominating Process - Letter to the Editor

Published in The Hinsdalean & The Doings Jan 22, 2009

I chaired the nominating committee, district 181 board of education. Randomly picked, twelve of us brought a mix of interests and priorities; but we focused on our task: Find four exceptional BOE candidates.

A caucus executive met with us twice to clarify deliverables and timetable.  He said "how you get there, and who you nominate is entirely up to you." We had no further monitoring.

We solicited fifty-two people identified as qualified, inviting them to apply. Thirty-two took the application; ten completed it. Eight agreed to the interview/vetting process. We selected four. We met two hours/week, 10 weeks.

Our criteria? Bring expertise D181 needs, experience with boards, children's issues, education, no "single-issue" candidates, commitment to transparency and good governance, collaborative decision-making, time to meet the position's demands and committed to community involvement.

We also considered the challenges ahead: Deficits, superintendent hiring, overcrowding, technology implementation, program assessments, etc.

Read the biographies at the Caucus website: Linda Rio Reichmann, Russell Rhoads, Yvonne Mayer and Sarah Lewensohn. Each brings a wonderful mix of skills, experience and personal traits that will serve community needs. Will they please everyone? Who does?

This process worked through (a) random delegate selection; (b) delegates seeking candidates (instead of candidates seeking election); and (c) a multi-month vetting process by independent, diverse committed citizens.

Yes, the process needs a tweaking, but every change will bring different warts - none can be perfect. However, after forty years of management consulting in corporate America, I was deeply skeptical going in. And, happily satisfied coming out.

- Harvey Bergholz

Hinsdale Caucus met its responsibility - Letter to the Editor

Published in The Doings - January 22, 2009

The village caucus seeks to recruit and evaluate candidates for the school, library and village boards. Anyone can be a delegate to the caucus. Caucus leaders in each school neighborhood solicit delegates. Of these delegates, 30 are chosen randomly to serve on nominating committees that interview community members who desire a caucus endorsement in the upcoming election.

I served on a nominating committee.  Our committee took this responsibility and privilege very seriously, collectively dedicating approximately 1,000 hours to the task. We immersed ourselves in challenges faced by the current board, set priorities and evaluated candidates. Random selection of our members resulted in a diversity of thought and passionate discourse.

There are caveats to participating on a nominating committee, including a confidentiality agreement. Confidentiality has its strengths and weaknesses. It can promote candidate's willingness to participate and ensure that committees are not influenced by outside forces; however it means that nominating committee members cannot seek outside advice and the process is not open.  

At our January meeting, a delegate called for an open discussion of candidates. While the idea of open discussion has face validity, it is incongruous with the tenet of confidentiality. If there were open discussion, the expert nominating committee members would not be able to defend a candidate's strengths. It is also problematic that individuals outside a nominating committee can derail the hours of hard work put in another's nominating committee.

Village caucus endorsement brings credibility. It means that a group of knowledgeable citizens have evaluated the candidate's qualifications and have selected them as being among the strongest candidates that match our village's current needs. Fortunately, for those not selected and for those who do not approve of the candidates endorsed by the caucus, selection by the caucus is not the only way to run in the upcoming election.

- Karen Dunn Lopez, Village Board Nominating Committee

Nominating Committees Have Been Formed

Press Release - September 23, 2008

On September 15, the Hinsdale Village Caucus met at its 2nd Regular meeting and formed nominating committees to slate candidates for the April 2009 municipal elections. Nominating committees were formed for the Hinsdale Library Board, Hinsdale Village Board (including President and Clerk), Hinsdale Caucus Officers and District 181 Consolidated School Board. The District 181 School Board nominating committee also include representatives from Burr Ridge and Clarendon Hills.

Since 1934, the Hinsdale Caucus has been an effective force in Hinsdale promoting non-partisan local government. Over the next few weeks the nominating committees will be reaching out to the community looking for experienced and talented individuals who are looking to give back to their community and participate on one of these elected Boards. Interested parties should email hinsdalecaucus@gmail.com. The nominating committees will report back to the Caucus with their slates of candidates on January 7, 2009.

Also, at the September 15 meeting, the Hinsdale Caucus voted overwhelmingly to amend its bylaws to improve the confidentiality of the nominating committee process. However, the proposed bylaw change to revert the term limit of Village Board members for two four-year terms back to one four-year term failed be a convincing margin. Currently, the Caucus restricts members of all three elected Board to two consecutive terms. The Village Board President has a one term limit.

Scott Morris
Chair
Hinsdale CaucusBack to top  

Media Coverage of the Hinsdale Village Caucus

Doings Editorial: "Caucus can do its job only with your help" - May 20, 2004

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