The Vedette hosted a candidate Meet and Greet on Tuesday, March 25, with candidates for Peotone Village Board, Peotone School Board, and Peotone Park District invited to attend.
Both mayoral candidates, incumbent Peter March and Chris Vieaux were in attendance. All three trustee candidates, incumbents Nick Strba and Jackie Richards, and returning candidate Pat Bowden also were in attendance. With Trustee Shelley Marevka not running for re-election, all three seats were uncontested on the ballot.
School board candidates Mark Jones, Ashley Stachniak, and incumbent Tim Stoub also were in attendance. Incumbent Candidate Dawn Love shared she regretted not being able to attend due to a family vacation that was planned significantly in advance. School Board Incumbent Candidate and current President Tara Robinson did not attend.
Peotone Park District candidates incumbent Barb Sim and new candidate Chris Miller attended, as well. Both seats on the park district board are uncontested.
The event was not a candidate forum, only an opportunity to meet several candidates in one location, at one time.
Approximately 50 people were in attendance at the midpoint of the two-hour event. With about 4,100 people living within village limits and about 6,000 within school district boundaries, the turnout was around 1 percent. Social media has been the way to engage constituents since COVID, and it seems that trend continues, with an after-events post garnering more likes than people in attendance.
Peotone School Board Candidate Mark Jones is a first time candidate and recent graduate of Peotone High School. He’s currently a student at Joliet Junior College. Jones shared that “it was nice to hear directly from community members about concerns and ideas.”
Mayoral Candidate Chris Vieaux shared that he enjoyed speaking with community members and hearing their thoughts, ideas, and personal insight.
It was no joke, the consolidated election took place on April 1. Will County is already reporting record high early voting numbers, but mail in ballots will ensure the election isn’t certified till later in the month. In the last consolidated election in 2023, Peotone Trustee Julie Sluis secured the seat by a single mail-in ballot, days after the election in which six people ran for three seats on the village board.
Peotone School District 207-U Board candidates, from left to right, are incumbent: Tim Stoub, Ashley Stachniak, and Mark Jones. –Photo by Andrea Arens.
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