They want to be Trustees, but Miezio, Navarro and Gallegos haven’t bothered to vote.
After two consecutive 4-to-1 defeats of the TIF and the 2008 tax increase, you would think the Riverside Party/Caucus would understand that they’re out of touch with residents. But they apparently don’t get it. The Riverside Party/Caucus has nominated trustee candidates who have either never voted in a village election or haven’t voted in one since 2001.
At the March 14 AAUW candidates’ forum, Tony Miezio told the audience “People need to take an active role in politics other than the one to two months before the election.”
If only Mr. Miezio heeded his own advice. He has lived in Riverside since the 1990’s, yet he has never voted in any election – national, state, or local – until he was interviewing with the Caucus to become their candidate for Trustee in November 2008. Here’s his vote history report from the Cook County Clerk’s Office:
He’s voted once – in the 2008 presidential election – in all of his years here in Riverside.
Kelly Navarro told the audience at the AAUW forum that she has voted and she could tell us how she voted on the TIF (the TIF vote was April 17, 2007). However, Cook County Clerk records show that she has not voted in a local election – Village Board or school board – since 2001.
The record shows that Ms. Navarro failed to vote in the 2003, 2005 or 2007 Riverside Village Board, District 96 or District 208 Board elections. While she has voted in national elections, she has not bothered to show up to the polls to vote on the TIF or any village or school board elections in Riverside since 2001.
Alex Gallegos’ vote record shows that he has not voted in a local election (Village Board, School Board) since 2003:
Riverside faces serious challenges in the coming months and years. Can we afford to turn the governance of the village over to people who haven’t even cared enough to vote in our local elections?