My name is Julianne Bonwit and I’m running for Village Commissioner. Forest Park became home to my husband Andy and me over nine years ago. And in those nine years, our lives have seen beautiful additions and painful losses. We started our family here in Forest Park and now have an amazing seven-year-old and a spunky four-year-old. I experienced two miscarriages, lost one of my three brothers, and both my father and Andy’s mother within this time. We have said goodbye to great friends as they moved away, and welcomed new friends to Forest Park. We’ve experienced over a foot of sewage back-up in our basement, losing our furnace, water heater, washer, dryer and numerous photo albums in the process. Fortunately, we’ve also had the fun of watching the construction of a new alley being created to alleviate some of those flooding problems.
Just as in our personal lives, there have been many ups and downs for Forest Park over its long history. I am running for Village Commissioner because I want to help the village with its next challenges and opportunities. I am running because I know the process of communication between citizens and their government can be challenging. I’ve had the experience of working to make change in the Village, simply requesting a stop sign in front of the Preschool Program and coming up against a system that was not welcoming of change.
My professional background as a social worker perfectly aligns with the skills I believe a Village Commissioner must have and practice in order to serve her or his constituents. Empathy, boundary setting, active listening, coordination, cooperation and organization are all tools I have honed and used many times over in my work, assisting people in setting goals and reaching them. I used these skills as a case manager for homeless adults, as an outreach worker for runaway teens, as a medical social worker for HIV+ adolescents, and as a social worker for abused and neglected children in service organizations and in private practice with adults and children dealing with depression, anxiety and trauma.
We are so lucky to have a Village where there is so much interest in and care for our community, where the interest is so great that there are seven men and two women running for Village Commissioner. I do believe we have reached a time in our Village history when the experience of a social worker could truly benefit the well-being of all who live here in our community. On April 2nd, I ask you to please select Julianne Bonwit for Village Commissioner.
Julianne Bonwit
Village commissioner candidate
