New Lenox Board Race

[New Lenox Voter]

New Lenox Voters -
I'm voting for Annette Bowden who never accepts campaign donations. If we consider New Lenox a family oriented community we will vote Mike Smith out of office.

[Do some research]

Sounds as if you are making your decisions based on what you read in the local newspapers. Since I have been present at some of the incidents they report on, I can assure you they are wrong a good portion of the time.I would suggest you speak to employees of the village. Who better would know the innerworkings of the politics? Ask them who is more qualified,has more integrity or who they would least like to see as mayor.

[New Lenox Voter]

Do some research wrote:

Sounds as if you are making your decisions based on what you read in the local newspapers. Since I have been present at some of the incidents they report on, I can assure you they are wrong a good portion of the time.I would suggest you speak to employees of the village. Who better would know the innerworkings of the politics? Ask them who is more qualified,has more integrity or who they would least like to see as mayor.

I appreciate your opinion but I see that you're from Palos. As a resident of New Lenox I tired of people who live in neighboring towns making snide but true remarks about the lap dancing crooked mayor. If the village employees like the current mayor maybe they should speak out against the newspapers who question Mike Smith's integrity.

[New Lenox Resident]

I moved to New Lenox in the late 80's. Truth be told, Mayor Smith has made some incredible advancements for our town. Our town has been transformed into a living, thriving amenity rich community. I do not agree with the Mayor's lifestyle. I do not agree with his actions. However, if you watch the board meeting on local tv, you will find that in my opinion (and it is mine) That a vote for Trustee Bowden will ultimately be catestrophic for the community. She has been on the wrong side of nearly every issue. Then again, maybe its a mute point if 10 people run.

[New Lenox Bob]

New Lenox Voter wrote:

New Lenox Voters -
I'm voting for Annette Bowden who never accepts campaign donations. If we consider New Lenox a family oriented community we will vote Mike Smith out of office.

I'm with you! Annette Bowden has announced she is running. Seventeen years of experience gives her permission. Mike Smith is a CRIMINAL.
He's lied. He's stolen money... and spent it in a strip club! Buying drinks and lap dances in a drunken stuper. He's in bed with developers. He has to go!
Annette Bowden will bring credibility, transparency and values back to New Lenox in a time when we desperately need it.

[New Lenox Bob]

I want to comment on the guy who said Mike Smith has done good things for New Lenox. I too have lived in New Lenox since the late 80's.
This town would have experienced growth if a monkey was mayor.
Mike Smith has promoted growth at ALL costs. Not managed growth.
Route 30 is a mess and only after an up roar is it being addressed. Mike Smith alone backed the WalMart/Menards deveopment on Route 30.
He talks about a comprehensive plan for the town but know one has seen it. It seems to change at his desires. He hasn't opened dialouge with the residents.
Mike Smith has too much unchecked power. He needs to go. And he's a thief, a liar and a pervert.

[new lenox]

Do some research wrote:

Sounds as if you are making your decisions based on what you read in the local newspapers. Since I have been present at some of the incidents they report on, I can assure you they are wrong a good portion of the time.I would suggest you speak to employees of the village. Who better would know the innerworkings of the politics? Ask them who is more qualified,has more integrity or who they would least like to see as mayor.

Please enlighten us. Don't just say "they are wrong..." give us specifics.

[Another concerned voter]

New Lenox Bob wrote:

I want to comment on the guy who said Mike Smith has done good things for New Lenox. I too have lived in New Lenox since the late 80's.
This town would have experienced growth if a monkey was mayor.
Mike Smith has promoted growth at ALL costs. Not managed growth.
Route 30 is a mess and only after an up roar is it being addressed. Mike Smith alone backed the WalMart/Menards deveopment on Route 30.
He talks about a comprehensive plan for the town but know one has seen it. It seems to change at his desires. He hasn't opened dialouge with the residents.
Mike Smith has too much unchecked power. He needs to go. And he's a thief, a liar and a pervert.

I agree Bob. Even if people don't always agree with the decisions Annette Bowden makes she is doing what she feels is the right thing for the improvement of the village. If you don't accept campaign donations you can look out for the best interests of the village and not feel obligated to approve requests when businesses or developers approach the board. It's time to elect someone who is concerned about the residents and not personal politcal gain or profit.

[Concerned in New Lenox]

Mike Smith did not bring the growth to New Lenox. Greater Chicago is expanding and this is its natural course. The measure of a good leader is how he or she manages this growth. Mike Smith has done a poor job and all the while collecting thousands and thousands of dollars from his developer friends. Remember his quote of "this is how it's done" in a Star Newspaper article several years ago. He's made appointments to boards with political lackies (Madsen, Walter and Tuminello), has tried in vane to shut the public out of development issues, and has made a mockery of public service. Now he has taken a job with a developer he claims he "honestly doesn't remember receiving contributions from," but in fact received $2500.00 in 2005, according to a recent Trib article. Watch his protege, Tuminello, the drama queen, gather even more campaign contributions than his $20,000+ he has from developers and builders already. New Lenox has had enough

[Troubled In LincolnWay]

Would the planners and developers in New Lenox PLEASE visit Kansas City, KS. Now there's a place where excellent planning is a standout. I too am sick and tired of the antics of politicians who are more interested in their own personal power than the betterment of their community! What is it that they say ... Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

[Troubled In LincolnWay]

By the way ... I don't know why it says I'm in Mokena. I've lived in New Lenox for the past 17 years. It pains me to see what poor planning and irresponsible behavior has done to our village. And, as a citizen and small business owner, I am appalled that he pushed the WalMart/Menards deal through, not to mention the lack of oppositon to the proposal in the first place. Community involvement? Here? God Forbid! The expectation is that we simply accept the status quo or blindly agree with whatever those in power propose. And lest you think otherwise, my business will not be directly or indirectly impacted by the WalMart or Menards deal. I simply feel these businesses are not the best choice for New Lenox.

[Fed Up In NL]

If New Lenox wants change, then we cannot re-elect or elect those individuals in Mike Smith's control.

M Smith may not be the mayor after this spring, but you can bet he will STILL be moving the mouths of Walter, Madsen, and Tuminello, et al.

Our planning is disgraceful. The few voices on the board the last handful of years as well as the residents have been effectively shut out by Smith and the above individuals as well as past board member(s). They like to spin and label anyone who is for better development as anti-growth. They're uneducated playground bullies in old man bodies.

Listen to what the candidates say very carefully and question them on everything, and listen to what they don't say. Most are very effective at soft talk, portaying themselves as bridge builders, bla bla bla. Many of them will cherry pick facts they want you to believe. If you're told anything, check it out for yourself. It is amazing what some of these folks will deliberately hide from the public.

WalMart does not belong in New Lenox. And ask the candidates why they are so generous with our money when they dole out millions of dollars in incentives at a time when Will County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state.

[Citizen for DAVID Smith]

The only current trustee that I would support for Mayor is David Smith.
He is intelligent and independent even though he may come off as a bit flakey at times with his dry sense of humor.
What is happening with Mike Smith beyond his new job? Is he still under investigation by the States Attorneys Office?

[New Lenox Voter]

If you want to keep Wal-Mart out of New Lenox or at least off of US 30 you have to let the board members know! You can also sign an online petition at:

www.petitiononline.com/NOWMNL/petition.html

[not fooled in New Lenox]

Ray Tuminello actually thinks intelligent voters but his story he's dropping out of the race for mayor because his 6 and 8 year old asked him? I'm thinking more like he wasn't able to collect all the signatures he needed. One would think before a person runs for any public office they would take all aspects including their family into consideration before making a big announcement at the village board meeting. He should really go back to grammar class and reading class before running for mayor. My 8 year old reads aloud better than Trustee Tuminello. Hopefully Trustee Bowden who seems to be working in this towns best interest gets elected. Let's all vote Walter, Madsen, and Dye out. We need a whole new board, with the exception of Dave Smith and Annette Bowden.

[Fed Up In NL]

Get Madsen, Walter and Dye out. I agree. Do not elect Baldermann. He's done nothing but work for the government his entire life and wants to continue. New Lenox needs an honest, objective, intelligent person who supports open government and respects democratic principals and is not thin skinned. Baldermann's track record as a board member does not support this. As a board member, he's either been a Mike Smith yes-man or a overly sensitive board member who makes personal attacks against residents who dare to speak out against him. As a board member he frequently would cast his vote only after polling the board to be sure he was either part of the majority or voting with Mike Smith. If he really believed the board was dysfunctional and cares so much about New Lenox, he would have run against Mike Smith anyway. What is good, healthy, democratic debate he sees as dysfunctional in order to control everything.
Watch it, New Lenox. Beware of the handshake.

[NL Resident]

Mayoral hopeful Baldermann (this would have been Tuminello also):

1. Supported Mike Smith's appointment of Keith Madsen instead of having a person elected. Madsen was just one of the buddies - not a qualifed person.

2. Received pay from the Village for walking in a parade and then did not repay it until it became public and then still took a long time to repay - apparently he had to wait to see others do it first.

3. Does not support architectural standards. Does not support sign ordinances for quality signs, does not support brick requirements, does not support setback easements for roads away from houses (interstates), does not support landscape requirements - anything-goes building that does not attract quality commercial business.

4. Big supporter of high percentages of multifamily housing, apparently wants New Lenox to look like Chicago Ridge.

5. Asks delevopers easy, closed-end questions that they answer with simply a "yes or no" - then he responds saying "I'm sastified." Supports giving millions of dollars away of our money to developers in needless tax abatements.

6. Justifies misinforming the community as just politics. Uses a lot of spin and buzz words that he thinks people will fall for. Leaves out important objective facts to give false impressions to the community.

7. Feels the need to govern New Lenox as a political party (boys club) rather than a community.

[NL watch out]

Baldermann lies and threatens people.

[Citizen for David Smith]

Why does it say "Mokena" next to some of our posts when we live in New Lenox?

Anyway, Madsen is a stiff, an unqualified embarassment, Walter is too angry and old, and Tuminello is dumber than a box of rocks.

Balderman? We don't need a Chicago Ridge cop as Mayor of NL. Seriously, we can do better than that guy.

I watched the Board meeting where David Smith acted as mayor pro tem. He basically showed us that didn't want to be Mayor,,,which disappointed me greatly. He is the only individual on that Board who has any vision whatsoever and the only one with the experience and intellect to lead and to keep the Village strong as we move forward. We need the guy in there, if for no other reason than to keep some of these political hacks and local government job junkies like Balderman out.
Come on David.

[NL watch out]

A very big mistake Dave made was supporting the appointment of Keith Madsen to replace Weigel. Baldermann said he "understood the politics" behind it and supported it. Walter and Dye supported it. Weigel went along with Mike Smith's play with his resignation date to avoid an election. The only board member who demonstrated respect for democratic principles was Annette Bowden. She spoke up and the rest of the board members as usual fell lock step behind Mike. If an election had been held, the people could have chosen a qualified individual to represent THEM and New Lenox could have been developing with much higher standards. Instead, Mike was allowed by Baldermann, Dave, Dye, Walter, and Weigel to continue to stack the board to represent HIS personal political interests, and we'll be paying for that ploy for a long time.