If there is one thing that the three candidates for DeKalb City Clerk agree on, it's that the clerk’s office is in dire need of repair.
“The last person to hold this role as an elected official essentially did not do any of the duties, was derelict in those duties, and had great disdain for government and for democracy.”
Bradley Hoey was describing the last person who was elected as clerk, Sasha Cohen. After being elected in 2021 on a promise of increasing transparency in the city government, Cohen missed a majority of city council meetings in 2022. He was later censured by the council and was ultimately removed from the position last March by a Judge after failing to file statements of economic interests.
Since Cohen’s removal, DeKalb has gone without a clerk. The DeKalb City Council voted to put a referendum on last November’s ballot to make the position appointed rather than elected, but voters rejected the referendum with 67% voting against an appointment.
Since then, three candidates are hoping voters will choose them to turn the page on this chapter in the city’s history.
And out of the three candidates running, two of them have run the clerk’s office before.
Lynn Fazekas was appointed in 2018 by the then-mayor amid high turnover in the position. A “government watcher,” she’s no stranger to city politics, having run the “City Barbs” blog which includes commentary and critiques of city business.
During her term, she filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging changes to the office were unconstitutional. A judge dismissed the lawsuit.
She says that if she were to return to the clerk's office, she would prioritize city elections and meetings, and to tackle the “extreme turnover” the office has had.
She said that she never thought she would run for office again, but after the results of the referendum and the city electoral board having an “unelected person,” she was inspired to run again, now saying she has a good shot.
“Having a conditional referendum is offensive,” Fazekas said, “The job should be the same whether it's elected or appointed, and punishing the voters by keeping with the elected clerk is not a good look.”
Fazekas also says that the role of the next clerk should be “transitional,” saying that the office has been “chipped away at.” She says that in order for DeKalb to have “great clerks again,” the civic infrastructure must be rebuilt. She wants the DeKalb City Council to ensure that future clerks would receive training through the Municipal Clerks of Illinois program, regardless of if they are appointed or elected.
“No matter if a clerk is elected or appointed, you still send them through the Municipal Clerks of Illinois training," she said. “That’s how they get good at it, that's how they get registered, that’s how they get certified.”
Steve Kapitan is also no stranger to the clerk's office. He was elected clerk in 2009 and served until 2012, when he resigned due to “personal reasons.” He also served as the Alderman for the 3rd Ward. He also worked as the file maintenance clerk at the Sycamore Jewel Store, saying that the skills he’s learned from all three jobs would translate well into this position.
“I came into the position in May of 2009," he said at the forum. "If you all remember we were in the depths of a great recession. The city was broke. We had no reserves, and the IT director came in and told me they had no ability to support my office with regard to any kind of computer training or otherwise.”
Given the recession and the multiple hats he wore, such as being the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) director, Kapitan recalls some of the measures he did as clerk with little cost, such as staggering lunch hours to keep the office open all-day and improving the FOIA process.
“Instead of using paper, I scanned the FOIA request if it was on paper and sent it to the appropriate department which improved the return (of the request) up to a day.”
Unlike Kapitan and Fazekas, Bradley Hoey was not previously a city clerk. A former journalist and Campus Communications Director at Northern Illinois University, Hoey also served several terms on the citizens community enhancement commission and worked with the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau as the Special Projects Manager.
Hoey says that his “broad experience” would help him in the clerk’s office.
“I am intimately, and I say intimately, familiar with FOIA and the Open Meeting Act.” Hoey said. “And I have served on many boards and commissions where I have taken notes and have documented the proceedings of many different types.”
The candidates will not appear on the ballot and are write-in candidates. The election is on April 1, with early voting at the DeKalb County Legislative Center in Sycamore.