Two More Candidates File for Aldermanic Bids

Municipal elections can sometimes be rather pedestrian affairs, but that apparently will not be the case in the forthcoming election in Evanston.

Two candidates filed at the last moment Wednesday in hopes of joining the City Council and defeating the incumbent aldermen of their respective wards. They join two others who are also making upstart bids. The challengers are officially James Dyer, Edward Tivador, Mark Sloane and Thomas Just.

Candidates had until 5 P.M. Wednesday to file the required signatures to get a place on the ballot for the April 2013 election.

Dyer, whose listed profession is an eponymous home improvement company, filed the signatures with the city clerk to challenge Peter Braithwaite in the Second Ward.

“I’ve been living in this town for 42 years,” Dyer said. “I’m a businessman, a landlord and I have two children and grandchildren. We want a safe neighborhood and we can make the budget balanced.”

Dyer, who was born in Jamaica, is concerned about the price of parking in the central business district in his bid to unseat Braithwaite.

“One of my main positions is to remove the parking meters from downtown so whoever comes to Evanston can park their car anywhere without getting a ticket,” Dyer added.

The other challenger who filed signatures on Wednesday was Tivador in the first ward as he will be taking on incumbent Judy Fiske.

Contact information for Tivador could not be found late Wednesday afternoon.

As Patch has previously reported, Aldermen Mark Tendam in the sixth ward will square off against Mark Sloane and Alderman Ann Rainey will have to fight back a challenge from Thomas Just in the eighth ward to hold on to her seat.

Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, City Clerk Rodney Greene, Alderman Melissa Wynne (3rd), Donald Wilson (4th), Delores Holmes (5th), Jane Grover (7th) and Colleen Burrus (9th) will not face opposition for another term.

Township Supervisor and Assessor

Gary Gaspard and Keith Banks remain the only candidates for Township Supervisor. Former Assessor Sharon Eckersall will not be opposed in her bid to reclaim the office she lost in 2009.

District 65

Only incumbent Tracy Quattrocki desired to run again for the District 65 board, leaving three slots open. Quattrocki along with Candance Chow, Claudia Garrison and Peter Kaplan had all filed previously and a lottery will be held to determine the order of their names on the ballot since they filed simultaneously. Sunith Kartha of Evanston also provided the necessary paperwork to make a run.

District 202

No last second candidates emerged in the race for the board at Evanston Township High School. Incumbents Gretchen Livingston and Deborah Graham will be vying with Casey Miller, Elena Garcia Ansani, Andrew Bezaitis, Patricia Savage-Williams, Doug Holt and Bill Geiger to remain on the board.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Sharon Eckersall was the incumbent. She is the former assessor.