DeKalb city worker, resident files as write-in candidate for city clerk

DeKALB – A write-in candidate that is currently employed with the City of DeKalb has thrown her hat in the ring for the DeKalb city clerk’s office election on April 6.

Stephanie Turner, current administrative assistant for the city’s legal department and a DeKalb resident for more than three years, said she thought her previous professional background was perfect for the position. Though the filing deadline in December came and went for her to be listed on the ballot, she decided after discussing it with a few friends that she still wanted to go for it as a write-in candidate in the city where she purchased her first home.

“So I take pride in that and I figured if I can give back in any way and learn more and more and more about DeKalb, that would be great and positive,” Turner said. “And this would help me achieve that.”

Turner said she has about 15 years of office work and meeting minute taking experience and she has gained experience in fulfilling Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests with the city. She said that experience includes more than 14 years working in the Kane County Circuit Clerk’s office within the traffic and criminal division as a deputy clerk, assistant supervisor and supervisor and part of those supervisory job responsibilities included creating meeting agendas and taking minutes for up to four meetings per month.

Should she be elected, Turner said taking on the extra work that the part-time city clerk position would entail won’t be an issue for her.

“I have always been busy, busy, busy at work and I like keeping myself busy,” Turner said with a chuckle.

Turner’s comments come after Sasha Cohen of DeKalb filed his candidacy for the office in December and current DeKalb City Clerk Lynn Fazekas confirmed she did not file this time around but said she wasn’t ruling out the possibility of filing as a write-in candidate under certain circumstances. That comes more than a year after the City Council passed an ordinance that amended the powers of the embattled office.

The clerk’s office has been the topic of debate since June 2019, as city emails obtained by the Daily Chronicle revealed a growing rift between City Manager Bill Nicklas and Fazekas. Smith asked Fazekas to resign after a closed session meeting July 22, to which she refused.

The DeKalb City Council previously voted to pass an ordinance that eliminated the deputy clerk position and assigned those duties to the executive assistant to the city manager, a role held by Ruth Scott who formerly served as deputy clerk. The ordinance amendment also formalized the ability for both the clerk and executive assistant to use the City Seal.

Fazekas later filed a lawsuit asking a DeKalb County judge to declare the changes to the powers of her office to be unconstitutional.

Turner said she’s aware of the storied past associated with the city clerk’s office but she tries not to get too involved with that. She believes she works well with everybody at the city and thinks she could meaningfully contribute and develop her own voice within city government.

Turner said she was never approached from anybody, including city staff, to run for the office during the upcoming consolidated election. She said it was her idea to run from the get-go.

“So I hope I can put a positive spin on things,” Turner said.

Declarations of intent to file as write-in candidates for offices up for election in April are due 61 days before the election, or by the first week of February, according to the DeKalb County Clerk website.