St. Charles mayoral candidates talk about their vision for the city in candidate forums

The two candidates running for St. Charles mayor laid out their vision for St. Charles during candidate forums this week.

Fifth Ward Alderman Maureen Lewis and Fourth Ward Alderman Lora Vitek spoke in separate candidate forums hosted by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Committee in partnership with Shaw Media/Kane County Chronicle. The Zoom sessions are posted at stcharleschamber.com/meetthecandidates.

St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina is not running in April for a third term. Whoever is elected will have the distinction of serving as only the second female mayor of St. Charles.

Sue Klinkhamer was St. Charles’ first female mayor. She served from 1997-2005 after previously being on the St. Charles City Council.

Lewis was born and raised in St. Charles. She is a 1967 graduate of St. Charles High School and has served on the St. Charles City Council for 10 years.

She helps head the St. Charles America In Bloom Committee. America In Bloom is a national initiative that promotes beautification and encourages the use of flowers, plants, trees, and other environmental and lifestyle enhancements to create welcoming and vibrant places to live, work and play.

Vitek, who has the backing of Rogina as well as State Senator and former St. Charles mayor Don DeWitte, was first elected to the City Council in 2017. She moved to St. Charles in 2012.

She also chairs the St. Charles Initiative, an independent advisory committee under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. The St. Charles Initiative is raising funds for the expansion of First Street Plaza in downtown St. Charles.

“I think that Mayor Rogina has done a wonderful job and I want to see his work and the work of our City Council move forward,” Vitek said. “I feel like we’re in a good place.”

She applauded how the City Council, staff and the community has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We banded together and tried to do some things that brought a little bit of a light into St. Charles with some of the outdoor dining pieces,” she said.

But she noted the pandemic continues to create challenges.

“Our businesses and our residents are still going to be faced with the impacts of COVID beyond the end of this year,” Vitek said. “It’s just inevitable. So that’s going to be around for a while.”

She is still optimistic that the largely vacant Charlestowne Mall will be redeveloped.

“I’m optimistic about something happening within the next year or so,” Vitek said. “I want to try to make that happen.”

Lewis emphasized her connection to the city.

“I have this deep roots in St. Charles,” Lewis said. “I care about the future of St. Charles. And I do want to make sure that it’s a safe place, a vibrant community and opportunity for all to live here in St. Charles.”

Lewis also acknowledged the impact the pandemic has had on residents and believes the city needs to do more to help them.

“Many have lost jobs,” she said. “They’re in debt. “They’ve had illness. They’ve lost loved ones. That’s going to be a challenge for our residents to get back to normal. I’ve asked the City Council and the administration to look for ways we can help our residents and our businesses. We have done a few things, but I think we’re going to have to do more.”

One of her top priorities if elected mayor would be to hire a new city administrator. St. Charles City Administrator Mark Koenen, who was appointed to his post in 2013 after serving as public works director for 23 years, has announced he will retire in May at the end of his contract with the city.

“The city administrator is really a high impact position and it affects the entire community,” Lewis said. “In many respects, the city administrator is the CEO of the community who keeps everything going.”

Another of her priorities is addressing the city’s aging infrastructure.

“Although we’re building many new things and exciting things, we still have neighborhoods that have aging infrastructure that needs repairing,” Lewis said. “We need to make sure that’s done.”