What You Need To Know About Randy Tack, The Current Election: Letter

From Jamie Moorhead:

I write in full support of Prue Beidler for Lake Forest Mayor and respectfully encourage all residents to vote for her. Prue will make a fantastic, respectful, and respected mayor, with the talent to make us again that shining city on a hill.

I currently sit on the Lake Forest Plan Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Central Business District Working Group and have spent hundreds of hours working with fellow residents and city staff. I write as a private citizen, but this work provides unique perspective on the mayoral race.

Much ink already has been spilled on this election, so, in brief, my reasons are:

1. Randy Tack’s Lackluster Dedication to the City.
   1. Failure to Meaningfully Participate in Central Business District Working Group. Tack often cites his position as chair of the Central Business District Working Group. I sit on that group with Tack. Tack missed 30% of our CBD Working Group meetings. Thirty percent, as chair. (11/10/22, departed after ten minutes; 3/7/23, arrived one hour late). Does Tack have the interest or time to do the City’s important work?
      
      Further, the CBD Working Group was led primarily by a consultant paid for by the City, not any individual on it.
   2. Failure to Prepare for League of Women Voters Forum. In his closing statement at the March 15th LWV Forum, Tack stated that Abraham Lincoln, in the 1860 presidential race, was elected “with 38% of the vote in a divisive, three-candidate race.” 1860 was a four-candidate race, and Lincoln – as the outsider standing on principle and facing the ridicule of the much-larger established party - won by 39.8%. Maybe Tack didn’t do the research. Maybe Tack had someone else write his statement. The question stands - does Tack have the interest, time, and ability to get the City’s work done?
2. David Hunt and Chris Benes Broke Our Treasured Caucus. Tack Should Not Be on the Ballot.
   1. The Caucus, as an institution, is a Wonderful and Valued Part of Lake Forest. To confirm, the Caucus is a terrific institution. I interviewed in front of the Caucus three times when it had prior leadership, and the Caucus and its process both work when properly led.
   2. Hunt and Benes Should be Summarily Removed by the Caucus Committee. As others have explained in detail, the Caucus’ November 9th vote was legitimate. Despite that, David Hunt, as Caucus president, and Chris Benes, as vice-president, led the disenfranchisement of more than 500 Lake Forest residents. Many of those voters cast ballots specifically because they believe Tack does not have the requisite experience, judgment, or temperament to be mayor.
      
      Many reports swirled afterward that lobbying of the Caucus Executive Committee occurred prior to its endorsement of Tack. For the avoidance of doubt, political machines and public corruption have no place here, and the Caucus should add lobbyist disclosure requirements to its by-laws.
      
      Hunt cited a Mayer Brown opinion as the main reason the Caucus breached its by-laws to stay with Tack. Mayer Brown issued the following statement about this: “Mayer Brown does not represent the Lake Forest Caucus, let alone all Lake Forest registered voters. We have not provided an opinion letter to the Caucus.”
   3. Tack Should Not Even Be on the Ballot. Section 3.05 of the Caucus by-laws states: “a majority vote of those members present at a duly convened meeting shall be required to take action on any matter presented for a vote.” Tack did not receive a majority vote, and Tack should not be on the ballot.
   4. Are the Pro-Caucus Supporters Sincerely Pro-Caucus? Note that, in the most recent past contested election, many current Tack supporters were vocally anti-Caucus then.
3. Tack’s Harmful and Divisive Campaign is an Embarrassment for Lake Forest. The tone and tenor of Tack’s win-at-all-costs campaign is wholly repugnant. Fear-mongering, negative politics, misogyny, criminal activity allegations, and name calling are all beyond offensive. Led or condoned by Tack and the Caucus, this campaign has no place in our community.
   
   Why is a current Alderman calling Beidler supporters and stating misinformation about Beidler? Why is a former Alderman accusing Beidler of criminal activity? Why does Tack continually appear on a podcast with two characters that make Statler and Waldorf appear Phi Beta Kappa?
   
   This is Randy Tack’s campaign. He owns all this. He says he wants to restore our faith in each other, but he condones the most embarrassing and low brow spectacle ever to occur in Lake Forest. Is this what you want the next four years to look like?
4. National and State Politics Are a Red Herring. I have known Prue and worked with her for almost a decade. I have never known her politics and still don’t. Why? Because national and state politics are irrelevant at the Lake Forest municipal level. Bringing cable tv news paranoia into Lake Forest government is simply a red herring and should be ignored as distraction.
5. What is the Real Tack Agenda? Why did the current pro-development Mayor (held votes three times to overturn the Plan Commission and Historic Preservation Commission to advance a condo development) appoint Tack as chair of the CBD Working Group? Why is a current pro-development Alderman (voted to overturn the PC and HPC three times alongside the Mayor) phoning Prue supporters to get them to switch to Tack? Why is a former Alderman, who quit the City Council early and now represents developers, accusing Beidler of criminal activity? Lake Forest can do better.

The main issue for the next four years will be maintaining our tax base in the Conway Business Park and the East and West Lake Forest downtowns. Covid’s boost to our tax revenue is waning. Companies, office landlords, retailers, retail landlords, and the City all are suffering from commercial vacancy, work-from-home trends, refinancing challenges, and online competition.

Who do you want tackling these issues for you in the next four years? The person who doesn’t show up and doesn’t spend the time to prepare? Someone comfortable wallowing in the sty of low brow politics and condoning character assassination, fear mongering, and name calling?

Prue Beidler works circles around Tack. Talent, leadership, ability to build consensus, skill at working a room, the desire to listen and learn. Beidler has all of these. Beidler will show up prepared, ready to listen, and will not embarrass us.

Leaders lead people not to where they want to go, but to where they need to go. Prue Beidler has shown in her high road campaign that she knows this. Prue will restore our faith in each other, will mindfully grow our economic base, and will get this City on to better days.

This letter to the editor was provided by Jamie Moorhead. The views expressed here are the author's own.