Although the League of Women Voters has strict rules on how candidates can participate in forums, the recent candidate forum for Skokie village clerk at the Skokie Public Library saw some candidates engage in a little back-and-forth.
The clerk’s race has three candidates: appointed incumbent Skokie Clerk Minal Desai, Skokie Village Trustee James Johnson and Niles Township High School District 219 Board Member Naema Abraham.
According to village code, the village clerk is an administrative position responsible for all matters regarding elections, keeping records, and certifying signatures, among other duties. The clerk does not participate in policy making, which is entrusted to the trustees and mayor.
The clerk earns an annual salary of $87,000, and will get an immediate 3% raise after being sworn in on May 1, per village records.
Johnson said if elected, he would reject the raise. He promised to digitize village records going back to the 1880s and he advocated for ranked choice voting, a voting system that has remained in legal limbo after a Cook County Circuit Court judge dismissed a referendum to implement it in Evanston’s elections.
In late December, Johnson assisted FairVote Illinois in filing petitions to get ranked choice voting on the ballot in Skokie for the April 1 election.
Desai, a former Skokie Park District Commissioner who was appointed clerk after former Clerk Pramod Shah retired in 2023, said, “the role of the village clerk is defined by state statute, village code and guidance from the Municipal Clerk’s Association… it’s important to note that this is not a position where one can create its own job description. It’s a role with clear responsibilities that’s established by the law.”
Desai spoke of the limits the clerk’s office has to implement ranked choice voting. “It will be up to the voters to decide whether or not they want to adopt that. It’s important for me to note that this is not a personal decision… the clerk’s role is not a voting position, it’s not a policymaking position. My role doesn’t involve influencing or making decisions on the referendum. It will be a democratic process, and voters have their own voice and can choose how they would like to vote on that item.”
“I just want to remind people that the role is about serving the people, and I’m ready to do that… It’s a service oriented position,” she said.
Johnson also appeared to take a jab at where the clerk performs her work.
“I think the key is presence. If you walk inside Village Hall, often the Village Clerk’s Office is unattended. We need a clerk that is very, very present. I’m not going to work in a back office like clerks have in the past. I’m going to work really right up front,” he said.
Desai later responded, “When I’m in the office, I’m in the back office. Our deputy clerk is up front… we have a bell that people can ring. But we have to do our work. Sometimes I need to focus and get things done.”
Abraham spoke about her time on the school board and her connections to the Assyrian American community. She spoke about the importance of community engagement. “You have to meet people where they are, so engagement is really the biggest driving factor for me for running for this office,” she said.
Abraham also called for more automation in the clerk’s office to free up more time for the clerk to give people more face time. She gave a specific example of digitizing real estate seals, which she said could save time for the clerk and real estate agents.
In Johnson’s closing statement, he broke a League of Women Voters rule to refrain from electioneering, or actively campaigning, when he endorsed Gail Schechter, who is running for an at-large trustee position, and Ann Tennes, who is running for mayor. His doing so elicited a shocked reaction from the audience, with some people demanding that he stop speaking.
“You should be done,” an audience member told Johnson after he said he would move on from speaking about candidates he is supporting.
“I apologize,” Johnson said. “I’ll pause my comments on ranked choice voting if that is the appearance of campaigning.”
