3 Candidates Running Unopposed For Mokena Trustee: Election 2023

MOKENA, IL — The Mokena Board of Trustees will welcome two new faces after local voters go to the polls where voters will select three candidates, all of whom are running unopposed in Tuesday’s election.

Incumbent Debbie Engler and newcomers Terry Germany and Terrence Smith will appear on the ballots on Tuesday. Germany and Smith will replace trustee James Richmond, who resigned his seat on the board late last year, and Joseph Budzyn, who did not file for re-election.

The Board of Trustees will continue to work with Mokena Mayor Frank Fleisher, who was sworn into office in the summer of 2021. Although social media posts last year suggested that he would be retiring, Fleisher dismissed those rumors late last year and called social media posts pointing at his retirement a “waste of time.”

Engler will serve her fifth term on the board after being first elected in 2007. Engler previously served as the President of the Mokena Chamber of Commerce and has served on various committees for the Chamber during her time with the organization.

In a candidate questionnaire provided to Patch after re-filing for re-election, Engler said that she believes the most pressing issue for the board is to continue to provide quality core services to Mokena residents. She also believes that the board needs to continue to be fiscally responsible as well and needs to maintain a proper village budget that includes funding pension obligations and maintaining and improving village infrastructure.

“There will always be opportunities for improvement. Village government needs to work to continue to create a better retail and sales tax scene that will support our schools and residents without seeing any additional tax burdens,” Engler wrote in her candidate questionnaire.

“We continuously need to keep making Mokena a place that people want to live in and shop in. We need to promote development. We need to try to keep our sales tax dollars here in our community and we need to find ways to encourage people from other communities to also spend their tax dollars here.”

Engler, 65, has lived in Mokena for more than 30 years and says she has done her best since first being elected to represent all of Mokena. She said that trust “is the glue that holds society together” and said that she has attempted to balance saying the course when necessary, with making needed changes to improve life for village residents.

Germany, 61, will be serving on the board for the first time after previously spending stints working on the village’s Planning and Zoning committee. With more than 30 years of working in the construction business, Germany said that he is committed to helping the village maintain the reputation it has built for being fiscally responsible and accountable.

In a questionnaire provided to Patch when he filed for election, Germany said that the current Board of Trustees has put the village on the right track. Now, he said he wants to be part of the plan to keep the village moving in the right direction.

As part of the Friends of Mokena group, Germany said that his previous experience working on the Planning and Zoning Committee has positioned him well to serve as a village trustee. He also cited his experience working with Mokena Strong, which assisted local residents in time of need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Germany said he wants to help residents moving forward and believes that the rest of the board is ready to do the same.

“I would continue our fiscal responsibility policies, keep a focus on ensuring safe drinking water and keep bringing meaningful development into the Village of Mokena and continue to create responsible policies to attract businesses to further enhance our commercial tax base,” Germany wrote.

Like Germany, Terrence Smith is new to the Board of Trustees after serving on the Zoning and Planning Commission. Smith, 59, also has a focus on keeping the village remaining fiscally responsible and accountable.

Smith, who works as an insurance claims director, said that his work hearing both sides of a dispute and applying contractual terms of a policy to help reach the proper resolution makes him a good fit for a spot on the Village Board.

Like with his fellow two board candidates, Smith said that he wants to continue to help Mokena maintain the status quo financially while pointing toward more progress in terms of what businesses make their way to the village in the coming months and years.

“I would like to bring meaningful development and continue to create policies that promote our planning goals,” Smith wrote in a questionnaire he submitted to Patch when he filed for the election. “We need to continue to try to attract commercial businesses to expand that tax base so the residents can continue to pay low Municipal taxes.”

Like with Germany, Smith has previously worked with Friends of Mokena and believes that the village board plays a critical role in helping Mokena maintain the strong reputation as a good place to live and work.

He said that in order to continue to attract good businesses to the village, the Board of Trustees needs to be a good partner by providing “fiscally smart” decision-making, Smith said.

“I plan to continue the current fiscal policies by supporting policies that attract thoughtful development to increase our commercial tax base,” Smith wrote. “I will focus on Village services, including the commitment to clean water and all other services needed throughout the Village.”