‘To enhance quality of life’: Mayor-elects mark new leadership across DeKalb County

In a month, nearly all DeKalb County’s municipal leaders will have new faces, as mayor-elects in DeKalb, Sycamore, Cortland and Genoa are sworn into office.

DeKalb Mayor-Elect Cohen Barnes, 51, said, beyond his plans to “figure out [local landlord] Hunter Properties” in his first 100 days in office, he also plans on continuing to work with Facebook as the social media giant progresses with an $800 million data center in the city’s southside.

“I’m also planning on reaching out to NIU president Lisa Freeman to start discussions on what the community, the city and the university can do together to further enhance quality of life in the community,” Barnes said.

Following Tuesday’s election, outgoing DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith said Thursday he was pleased to see that the voters within the City of DeKalb chose Cohen Barnes to be their next mayor.

Smith previously said he initially thought it would “probably be best not to publicly endorse one of them,” especially with a sitting First Ward Alderwoman Carolyn Morris also running for the seat. However, he later concluded Cohen Barnes would be the “best choice” for his successor and publicly endorsed Barnes.

“With the results, I think, as a City Council, we’re going to have the best of both worlds,” Smith said.

Smith said that was his thought all along in endorsing Barnes was wanting an experienced businessman leading the City Council with Morris in a position to continue her work in her aldermanic seat.

“She has done exemplary job for her constituents in the Annie Glidden North area,” Smith said.

Smith said he wanted to commend both candidates for their civility in how they conducted their campaigns.

“I know both of them will continue to do whatever lies ahead with the best interest of the citizens of the City of DeKalb at heart,” Smith said.

Smith said he hopes the momentum the city established over the last several years will continue, including an continuing emphasis on economic development. He said he believes Barnes and Morris expressed “a genuine will” to improve public safety and housing issues that might exacerbate public safety concerns.

“I think the new mayor and council going forward have a clear vision of what the citizens of the City of DeKalb expect them to address,” Smith said.

Going forward, Smith said, he expects disagreements among City Council and city staff from time to time. However, he said he hopes solid cooperation, collaboration and communication among the two groups remain.

“In the end, all of us will benefit,” Smith said. “It’ll be win-win situation for sure.”

Sycamore

A couple of days after the Tuesday election, Sycamore Mayor-Elect Steve Braser said he’s still feeling good about the unofficial election results.

“I’m very excited moving forward with everything,” Braser said.

Braser, who is currently a Sycamore alderman in the city’s third ward, clarified it was his aldermanic seat that was up for election this time around and he would not have been running again as alderman due to his mayoral campaign.

Braser’s comments come after Sycamore aldermanic candidates for Ward 2 fielded questions concerning water quality issues during a virtual League of Women Voters virtual forum days before the Tuesday election.

During a months-long renewed effort taken to City of Sycamore officials to address, a number of residents also got together and filed a class action lawsuit against the city in October of 2020, which remains ongoing. City officials have continued to deny the water, which many residents reported is brown and has a foul odor and texture, is unsafe to drink, though they are looking at getting a forgivable loan to replace lead water lines throughout the city. The council in recent months has also mulled over possibly implementing a separate program that would give a $1,000 utility bill credit for homeowners that replace lead water service lines on their private property.

Braser said he’s limited to what he can talk about regarding the class-action lawsuit, citing the ongoing nature of the suit.

“But I do think that the City has worked with them and continues to work with them,” Braser said. " … The city has always had an open door … and, as far as I know, the line of communication is always open.”

Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang said he was excited to hear that Braser was the apparent winner of the mayoral race. He said Braser has been involved in city government for more than a decade and he has a good understanding of where the City is and where it hopes to go.

“I think he’s very capable to lead us for the next four years,” Lang said.

Lang said he hopes the new council can continue to help facilitate the same community spirit and to support one another. He said he believed the City has a good relationship with City of DeKalb, DeKalb County, city park district and school district officials and that collaboration and support remains.

“I’m looking forward to supporting it as a citizen,” Lang said.

Braser said he wants to be as accessible as possible to constituents and wants to know about the town’s successes and any issues that may arise.

“Sycamore’s a great town,” Braser said. “And I want to continue growth and make things right.”