Proviso Together, the political party that accomplished a seven-member supermajority last February when all four of its candidates were voted to seats on the Proviso Township High Schools District 209 school board, held a campaign kickoff on Saturday for the party’s original three candidates elected in 2015.
Among the four newcomers, three — Rodney Alexander, Amanda Grant and Samuel Valtierrez — remain committed Proviso Together members while Arbdella Patterson has parted ways with the group.
The kickoff was held at the home of board member Claudia Medina, who along with D209 board President Ned Wagner and member Theresa Kelly, round out the Proviso Together slate.
When reached by phone on Nov. 6, Wagner seized on a range of developments over the last four years to argue why he thinks he and his running mates deserve another term.
“The thing I’m most proud of as a board member is that we have been able to be disciplined in our spending,” Wagner said. “We’ve saved money that will be put toward the facility master plan. If we stick to this plan and continue to discipline our spending, we’ll be able to do a lot of really good work on these buildings so students can have great learning environments.”
Wagner also said he’s proud of the “foundational work we’ve put in at Proviso East,” adding that, despite the recent State Report Card data designating East a lowest-performing school, “every issue on that report card is being addressed very assertively and creatively.”
Sept. 18 was the first day to circulate petitions for independent and nonpartisan candidates, along with new political parties. The last day to file petitions for all candidates is Dec. 17.
CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com
