A retired architect with a civic footprint across the Park Ridge area, and a Maine South High School alum and longtime business man are vying to be city clerk, with both telling voters at a recent debate about how they look to engage residents more.
Marion Joan Mattingly and Michael Lupo are the candidates running to replace City Clerk Sal Raspanti – who is running for mayor – in the April 1 election.
The two, both first-time candidates, participated in a candidates debate last Thursday at the Centennial Activity Center in Park Ridge.
The Maine South High School student journalism team helped to host the debate, which included the candidates for mayor, clerk and aldermen. Debate for each office lasted about a half hour, with the event lasting about three hours in total.
Mattingly and Lupo had met before at a candidate forum where they introduced themselves and their visions for the clerk position. Their interaction at the March 20 debate was cordial, coming off more like a friendly discussion between two longtime city residents and public leaders.
At the top of the event, Lupo went so far as to praise his opponent.
“I want to thank Joan for doing this with me,” Lupo said. “It’s a tough thing to put yourself out there like this and I’m glad we’re in this together. … Partisan politics have no place in municipal elections. I have always been an independent person and I have no interest in playing for one side or another.”
Mattingly, a retired architect introduced herself as a longtime public servant who has volunteered on numerous public boards and bodies over the years, including most recently, the library board.
“I have effectively collaborated with board and committee members to successfully achieve results,” she said.
Part of the city clerk’s responsibilities include attending city meetings where they count votes, and conduct roll calls. The clerk also oversees elections and ensures city records are kept, properly stored and available to the public. The clerk does not cast any decision-making votes for the town.
Still, both candidates promised to do their best to be transparent, and to focus on communication and outreach.
Lupo said he spoke with current Mayor Marty Maloney and members of the City Council and based on that he wants to “upgrade our existing outreach system to increase two-way communications so residents can voice concerns and raise questions.”
He added that he could help look for city grants and later, when asked about how technology could help in the city clerk role, suggested artificial intelligence could help look for funding opportunities.
“I know there are other municipalities that are using AI to search for grants and funding sources, and that’s certainly something worth looking into,” he said. “We’re going to have to be a little bit more creative to get what we need. But the most important thing is to get what we need.”
Mattingly said she would like to send direct emails to residents as opposed to relying on social media. Besides that, she said she would like to establish something like a virtual bulletin board so volunteers and those who need a volunteer in the community could be paired.
“A community match program so people can partner with people who need help,” she explained at the debate. “Maybe somebody has a broken hip and there’s somebody who can mow their lawn.”
In addition to candidates for city clerk, Maloney and Raspanti debated, and City Council candidates for representative of the city’s 2nd, 4th and 6th wards were also present at the debate.
Alfred Sanchez is running unopposed for another term as alderperson of the 2nd Ward. In 2021, he defeated Julianna Lopez de Philbrook after capturing 65% of the vote, according to the Cook County clerk’s office.
In Park Ridge’s 4th Ward, current Alderperson Harmony Harrington is not running. She was uncontested in her 2021 bid. Now, though, David Cartwright and Kelly Muno are on the April 1 ballot, running against each other to be the ward leader.
There is also a competitive race in the 6th Ward, with Richard Biagi not seeking another term. He had also run uncontested in the 2021 election. Lauren Rapisand and Joseph Iacullo are vying for the ward seat.
Early voting is currently underway, with voters able to cast ballots at any available site through Monday. The Consolidated Election – featuring races for municipal leaders, and school, park and library boards – is Tuesday.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer. Pioneer Press staff contributed.