Novy appointed to fill vacancy on Oswego Village Board

Newly appointed Oswego Trustee Karen Novy said she looks forward to serving the residents of Oswego.

By a vote of 4-2, the 20-year Oswego resident was picked during a special Oswego Village Board meeting July 5 to fill a vacancy on the board. Voting yes were Trustees Kit Kuhrt, Karin McCarthy-Lange and Andrew Torres and Village President Ryan Kauffman.

Voting “no” were Trustees Tom Guist and Jennifer Jones Sinnott. In May, newly elected village Trustee Luis Perez resigned to pursue an out-of-state job opportunity.

Perez was elected to the Village Board in April 2023 and his term expires in April 2027. He previously served on the Village Board from 2015 to 2021.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Novy said after the meeting. “I’m willing to meet people for coffee so they can talk to me and get to know me.”

Novy will serve until the 2025 consolidated election, at which time a candidate will be elected to serve the remaining two years of Perez’s term. She has been involved in many community activities, including being a founding member of the Kiwanis of Oswego club.

She also is involved in the League of Women Voters Aurora Area, is a former Oswego planning and zoning commissioner and is the former chief of staff for state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego.

Kauffman had said the two top candidates he was considering to fill the vacancy were Novy and former Oswego Trustee Brian Thomas. Kauffman previously picked Thomas Collins to fill the vacancy. However, he did not garner enough support from the Village Board last month for the appointment to go through.

Guist said he thought Thomas was more suited to fill the vacancy because of his experience.

“Nothing against Karen’s resume,” Guist said. “It’s a very good resume.”

Jones Sinnott and Kauffman both thanked the 23 people who applied for the vacancy.