New Park Board Commissioners Say They Are Looking for a Fresh Start

Fiscal responsibility seems to have been on the minds of Glen Ellyn residents as they headed out to the polls on Monday, ultimately deciding to put new leadership on the Park District Board of Commissioners.

At an election night party for Gary Mayo, Kathy Cornell and Richard Dunn, the candidates said that although they were initially worried about getting their message out to voters, they felt validated in their approach of bringing greater scrutiny to the financial decisions of the Park Board. 

“We want to see the numbers first,” Mayo said about the incoming election results, before commenting on the direction the Park Board needs to go. “But that’s typical of how we will approach the board, we want to see the numbers first before we make decisions.”

Cornell said that in addition to fiscal responsibility, the board also needs to focus on stewardship of the parks and making sure that the board is effectively communicating with residents.

“Some of the park district properties could really benefit from improvement, rather than investing in big capital projects,” Cornell said. “I’m very concerned about the condition of the playing fields. If we’re going to be investing in stuff, I’d like to improve what we’ve got.”

Cornell and Mayo agreed the taking a hard look at improvements that can be made to recreation areas in the parks would be one of the first things they would like to see the new board address.

For Mayo, a focus on data-driven decisions is an important change the new board will need to make.

“One of the underlying themes of our campaign is that decisions need to be more data-driven. The current board has made a lot of decisions from just shooting from the hip,” Mayo said of his approach.

Another big issue in front of the board will be the selection of a new executive director, which Mayo said would likely be the most important decision they will make during their term.

“We want to bring in someone really good that can help us make those decisions,” Mayo said. “You want someone who is a visionary, and in this case, we also need someone who has demonstrated fiscal responsibility in their previous positions. Someone who knows how to stick to a budget, because I think that’s something that has been lacking in the past.”

Dunn said that an important quality for him were someone who will be a “good communicator with the public." 

Overall, the three candidates and now board members-elect, said they were looking for a fresh start overall. 

“This is almost like starting fresh,” Cornell said. “This is something the three of us are really happy about—starting things in a new way.”