Povlsen to run for full term as mayor

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Acting DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen announced Tuesday his intention to run for a full term as mayor, one of five elected offices in the city that is up for election in the spring.

Povlsen was appointed in August to finish out the term of Mayor Frank Van Buer, who died in July of pancreatic cancer. Povlsen said his goal for the remainder of his appointed term was to carry out “Frank’s vision.”

He isn’t the only one looking ahead to the April elections: As of Tuesday, 24 candidate packets had been picked up at the DeKalb Municipal Building by people interested in running for office – an unusually high number, City Clerk Donna Johnson said.

The positions up for election next year are for mayor, city clerk and aldermen in Wards 2, 4 and 6. Packets became available in October for candidates to begin collecting signatures.

Candidates who wish to run for any of the five elected city positions have until Jan. 26 to file, Johnson said.

The number of signatures of registered voters required is different for each open office because it is based on a percentage of the number of votes cast for that office in the last election. In general, the number of signatures needed is not less than 5 percent or more than 8 percent of the number of votes cast for that office at the last election, according to the Web site of the DeKalb City Clerk.

Sixth Ward Alderman Dave Baker said Tuesday that he plans to run for his third term on city council.

“I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback and requests by constituents to make sure that I do plan on running again, as I do, for the 6th Ward,” he said. “My voice seems to be enough of a different opinion and a different voice that definitely stands out.”

Baker was not sure whether there were others officially running for the 6th Ward, and Johnson said there have been several other 6th Ward residents who have come in to pick up packets, along with residents in the 2nd Ward and 4th Ward.

Johnson has announced her retirement after more than 12 years as city clerk, and 4th Ward Alderwoman Donna Gorski said she would not be seeking a second term.

“From the day I was elected, I never had the intention of pursuing a second term,” Gorski said. “Four years is plenty. It’s time for somebody new to serve the 4th ward in DeKalb.”

As of Tuesday, 2nd Ward Alderman Tom Teresinski, who was selected by Povlsen to finish out the term when Povlsen moved to the mayor’s chair, has not picked up a candidate packet from City Hall, Johnson said. Phone messages left for Teresinski seeking his intentions were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Povlsen, director of prevention services at Ben Gordon Center and project coordinator for a countywide group advocating substance-abuse-free environments, said that if elected to a full four-year term as mayor, he would focus on business development.

His plan for economic viability is to encourage businesses to build and develop through incentives while taking “a close look at City Hall.”

“We need to continue to restructure and make sure we’re as cost-effective and efficient as we possibly can be,” he said. “What I don’t want to do is to reduce personnel, which in turn means reducing services.”

2009 Election calendar

Oct. 28, 2008: Candidate packets were made available at the city clerk's office and petitions for office could begin circulating.

Jan. 20-26, 2009: Filing period. Petitions must be filled out and submitted, with the number of signatures required based on voting trends from previous election.

April 7, 2009: Election day.