In his “Guest Essay” in this week’s Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (“Democratic process not working under current system,” Jan. 13), resident Ken Balaskovits renews his call for changing Park Ridge from a City form of government to a village. 

His argument is the same one he’s been flogging for the past year: that the village form of government – with its representatives elected on an at-large basis rather than from individual wards – would provide more candidates and more contested races.

As we pointed out in two previous posts about this half-baked idea, “Does It Take A ‘Village’ To Get Good Government In Park Ridge?” (03.19.10) and “Ignore Balaskovits And Sign ‘Restore The Council’ Referendum Petition” (04.23.10), his argument that our current form of City government provides far fewer choices than local governmental bodies electing “at large” officials is just plain wrong.

Over the past decade, the City Council has had far more contested ward races than either the Park Ridge Recreation and Park District Board or the District 64 School Board have had for their at-large seats.  And if you exclude the two most apathetic (or just plain pathetic) wards in the City – that dubious distinction goes to the 2nd and 3rd Wards – the City Council’s advantage would be even greater.

So we have to wonder just what Kenny B’s game might be.

It sure doesn’t seem to be increasing contested races for their own sake, especially since Kenny was a supporter of former mayor Howard “Cut the Council” Frimark and never beefed about low turnout in 2007 (when the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Wards all had uncontested races) or pre-2003, when the Homeowners Party candidates rarely had challengers.

But blind squirrel theory being what it is, Mr. B does make one salient point: the lack of citizens willing to step up to the public service plate and seek aldermanic seats is a sad commentary on this community, especially given the thick calluses it has developed from continually patting itself on the back about all its “volunteerism.”

Don’t get us wrong.  Volunteering to be a coach, scout leader, lunch mom, crossing guard, Sunday Supper helper, etc. is a good thing.  And often it provides a service that taxpayers otherwise might need to pay for, so its also fiscally responsible.

But accepting the public trust that comes with representing one’s fellow citizens on a governing body is several notches above that other volunteerism, especially if it is done purely in the name of public service rather than in the interest of networking and marketing.  Or picking up more insurance leads.  

Which is why the residents of the 3rd Ward – it doesn’t seem quite right to call them “citizens” when they seem so bereft of this vital incident of citizenship – deserve a collective dope-slap for their ward’s long-standing tradition of uncontested races that finally has culminated in the figurative spitting in the eye of democracy: No candidates at all.

So as we try our best to rinse away the sour taste of that civic irresponsibility with another slug of vermouth-kissed Bombay Sapphire, perhaps Kenny B’s brain-cramp does have some merit:

Turn the 3rd Ward’s aldermanic seat into an at-large one until all those civic disconnects living there finally wake up and figure out that they owe the rest of us an alderman.  

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