MEET THE CANDIDATES
Cam Davis and Kim Du Buclet arts.uchicago.edu/logan/gallery
Logan Center Gallery • Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts • 915 E 60th St Chicago IL 60637
THE YEARS
January 24
Harold Mendez —
NOW
The Weekly sits down with two Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioners running for re-election BY SAM JOYCE Two of the ten candidates currently running for the Democratic nomination for three seats on the board of commissioners that governs the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) are incumbents who have been slated by the Democratic Party. (A third incumbent, Frank Avila, has not been slated but is actively campaigning for reelection.) These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
March 8
You can find extended versions of these interviews, as well as an interview with candidate Mike Cashman, an educator, at southsideweekly.com. Democratic candidates Heather Boyle, a public works and engineering clerk for northwest suburban Des Plaines; Michael Grace, a trustee of the southwest suburban South Lyons Township Sanitary District; Patricia Theresa Flynn, a village trustee of southwest suburban Crestwood; Deyon Dean, a former mayor of south suburban Riverdale; and Avila have not responded to requests for interviews. Interviews with candidates Eira Corral Sepúlveda, the village clerk of northwest suburban Hanover Park and the Democratic Party’s pick to unseat Avila, and Shundar Lin, a water scientist who has previously run for board seats on the Democratic and once on the Republican ticket and has served on the Illinois Pollution Control Board, are forthcoming.
C
am Davis was first elected in 2018 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Commissioner Tim Bradford. As a result of the timing of Bradford’s death, three days before the filing deadline, every candidate had to run a countywide write-in campaign. Davis set the Illinois record for most write-in votes in an election, winning 54,183 votes and the two-year term. This time around, his path looks considerably less difficult: his name is listed on the ballot. Before he was elected two years ago, Davis had a long and varied career in water protection work. He previously served as then-President Barack Obama’s “Great Lakes Czar,” coordinating environmental restoration in the region. He has also worked as president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes and as an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. What have you done in the last couple years on the board? There have been several things that I’m really grateful I had the chance to do. One of them was the chance to vote for an independent inspector general. For the first time in a hundred and thirty years, we have what I call forensic accountants and attorneys who can follow the money and make sure that the agency, including us as commissioners, is
FEBRUARY 19, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11
