‘The Candidate Shortage Is Worse Than Ever’ — Kane County Clerk Publishes 2017 Candidates Guide
- Editor’s Note: This article is the first of a series containing information published in the Kane County Clerk’s Office’s “2017 Local Elections Guide,” which includes text prepared by the Citizen Participation Institute to educate potential candidates, students and the general public about the importance of elected local offices in Illinois.
- Candidates signup in Kane County starts Sept. 20 and runs through Dec. 19, 2016, for local-government offices in the county, but the sign-up time in Aurora, Elgin and some villages is limited to Nov. 21 to Nov. 28, 2016, according to the 2017 Local Elections Guide.
The candidate shortage in Illinois is getting worse. For the 1,500 seats filled in the November election, voters will have no say two-thirds of the time because most candidates are running unopposed.
It is too late to do anything about the November 2016 election, but there is time to do something for the election next April, when those who set all our property taxes are elected. But time is short.
In April 2017, approximately 45,000 candidates for local nonpartisan offices will be needed for voters to be able to have a choice for every seat that will be on the various ballots. Unless more (that means you) persons run, two-thirds of those seats will be filled by the only person who signed up to be on the ballot. Some seats won’t have anyone at all on the ballot.
Sadly, voters will be able to really choose only one-third of those officials who set their property taxes; the rest will be imposed by default.
The average registered voter is eligible to be a candidate for any one of a dozen local nonpartisan offices. The Kane County Clerk’s Office guide describes each of those offices and their functions. It also explains some principles and concepts of local government.
Elected officials are necessary for these local governments (that each control over $1 million of property and cash) to have legal authority to pay routine bills, hire and fire staff, set policy, control spending, and impose property taxes. It is surprisingly easy to get onto the ballot, and campaigning for most these low-visibility offices is low-key. But the window to get onto the ballot is narrow: from September until Christmas.
When you decide which office you want to run for, you may download, for free, all the necessary paperwork from the website at www.CandidatesWanted.info.
- Next in the series: Candidate FAQs.
