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Burr Ridge trustee to run against Mayor Grasso
Gary Grasso
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Updated: January 28, 2013 1:58AM
BURR RIDGE — Trustee Robert Sodikoff will run for mayor in the April 2013 election.
Sodikoff will take on incumbent Gary Grasso, who recently was also elected to serve on the DuPage County Board. That, Sodikoff said, weighed heavily into his decision to put his hat into the ring for mayor.
“Ninety percent made it clear that they thought nobody should hold two elected offices,” Sodikoff said, referring to an advisory referendum held earlier this month. “The mayor, for whatever reason, thinks this applies to everyone but him.”
Sodikoff has served on the Village Board for 14 years and on the Plan Commission 10 years prior to that.
“I’m excited about running,” said Sodikoff, whose term as trustee ends in April.
Trustees Robert Grela and Maureen Wott also announced Monday that they will not seek re-election in April.
While Grela and Wott said their decisions not to run were made before Grasso ran for election to the County Board, both oppose the mayor’s decision to hold both offices.
“I’m worried about a perception of impropriety,” Wott said.
“There is interaction between the village and the county,” Grela said. “I have a philosophical objection to this. I don’t feel that any person should be elected to two positions simultaneously, whether they’re paid or unpaid, pensioned or unpensioned.”
Trustee John Manieri, whose term expires in 2015, also has spoken out against the mayor’s dual role, saying the people have spoken out against it via the referendum.
Grasso, meanwhile, has remained steadfast in his intention to serve on both the Village Board and the County Board.
