The Watchdog’s choice for Mayor is….
When all the votes were totaled and the orderly process was completed the candidate climbing the highest on the voting totem pole for Mayor of Naperville was Doug Krause by a 5% margin over incumbent mayor George Pradel ( 41% to 36%) and a convincing 18% more than mayoral candidate Councilman Kenn Miller with 23%. Now granted our sampling vote was by far, less that next Tuesday’s general election, however it’s still a window into the world of possibilities for the outcome of the April 5th election. The Watchdogs support the results of the pre-election and with that we endorse the election of Councilman Doug Krause for Mayor of Naperville.
Let’s make it perfectly clear that we know how difficult it is for a non-incumbent to be elected. It’s a challenge for anyone to get elected for anything if they have good competition, however once elected to an office it’s as difficult if not more difficult to be elected out of office. In the last Naperville Mayoral election Mayor Pradel defeated his opponent by capturing nearly 70% of the vote. So defeating Mayor Pradel would have as much chance as let’s say…..VCU getting to the Final Four and then winning the whole thing. Many think that defeating Mayor Pradel would be like VCU beating Southern Cal, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and then #1 Kansas; I mean what are the chances of that happening.
We support Doug Krause for Mayor because it’s time to pass the gavel. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not because Mayor Pradel hasn’t been a good Mayor. For the most part he has done an outstanding job with a few major stumbles along the way. But let’s face it; anyone in a position of leadership is going to have that happen. I for one am proud that the mayor of our fine city, Mayor Pradel came from the ranks of the Naperville Police Department and invested a good part of those years of service as Officer Friendly. Personally I hold in high regard anyone who has honorably served his community as a police officer. My wife’s dad was a police officer in the State of Indiana for 43 years.
So Mayor Pradel has been the right person for the right job at the right time. However now it’s a different time and the job and responsibilities have become bigger and the issues have become more complex as our city grows. And it’s because of those reasons we endorse Doug Krause for Mayor of Naperville. He understands Naperville and its issues. He has a clear vision of what needs to be addressed and he has a plan for changes necessary to take the City of Naperville to the next level. We would hope that if Doug Krause is elected the next Mayor of Naperville that he would carry the torch as well as Mayor Pradel has done over his tenure as mayor. Doug Krause is the right person, for the right job, at the right time. It’s time to pass the gavel forward.