Rich Hofeld was reelected to his eighth consecutive term as village president, according to unofficial results from the April 1 election, and the trustee candidates running with him on the Greater Homewood Party prevailed over challenges by the new Greener Homewood Party.
Greater Homewood Party village clerk candidate Nakina Flores ran unopposed.
With 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Hofeld had received nearly 74% of the vote. It was the first election since 2009 that Hofeld faced a challenger. Newcomer Brady Chalmers ran against him as an independent.
At an election watch event Tuesday night, Homewood Trustee Jay Heiferman, who also serves as chairman of the Greater Homewood Party, watched as Hofeld and Trustee Lauren Roman updated an election results grid that showed the party’s candidates well ahead.
“I’m very proud of my candidates. Everyone worked hard,” he said.
Hofeld, too, was quick to credit the work of the candidates and the party.
“It’s a team effort and I’m delighted we’re here to work with the people of Homewood,” he said. “We’ve done good things in the past and we’ll continue.”
When asked whether the campaign revealed any new issues on the minds of Homewood voters, Hofeld gestured to the results grid on a table.
“I think we pretty much had our finger on the pulse of the community. We responded accordingly and … well, there’s the results.”
Challenger’s impact
While the results were not what Brady Chalmers hoped for, the challenger for the village president seat found a number of things to be pleased about Tuesday night.
Hofeld has been presiding over village board meetings and holding Saturday office hours for nearly three decades. Chalmers has lived in the village for only a couple years, and although he has spent much of his career working for political organizations, his run for mayor was his first attempt to seek office.
In an effort to counter his opponent’s broad name recognition and long track record, Chalmers and his team hit the streets.
“We knocked on over 4,000 doors,” he said.
He thinks that effort helped generate more interest in the election than has been common in recent years.
“The goal is to make the democratic process more accessible to people,” he said.
Turnout on Election Day also saw a jump. In the previous mayoral election in 2021, turnout was 12.69% and in 2023 with trustees on the ballot the turnout was 14.73%. The unofficial turnout this year was 23.3%.
Chalmers said the campaign also began to establish new voices in local politics.
“I think it is so important that folks speak up, that our generation says, ‘Look, we’re going to be heard. We’re not asking, we’re stepping up to the plate. We are ready for the mantle of leadership,’” he said. “I’m proud of how we ran the race. We focused on values. We focused on vision. We never got involved in smears or attacks. We stood for who we are, and I can live with that.”
As for what’s next, Chalmers said he would be “kissing my wife, hugging my kids, thanking them for letting daddy spend six months on this adventure. Then we’re just going to continue what we were doing before, being good neighbors, participating, being active, being visible. This is our home. We want to make it better.”
Greener Party lays foundation
Liz Varmecky, founder of the Greener Homewood Party, was hoping to win seats on the village board, but on the bright side, the four candidates fielded by the party received 3,668 votes as of Wednesday afternoon, April 2. That’s more than enough to qualify as an established political party in Illinois, she said.
Joining her on the party’s slate were Tiffany Cole, Craig Frank and Patrick McAneney.
Varmecky said she was also pleased with the less tangible but no less important accomplishments.
“I’m proud of the campaign we’ve run. I’m proud of the group we brought together, the community we built and we’ll continue to build,” she said. “This obviously doesn’t end here. We have a party now, and and we’ll be here.”
Varmecky’s interest in local issues took off in 2021, when she founded an organization, South Suburbs for Greenspace, to oppose the industrial redevelopment of Calumet Country Club. The Greener Homewood Party’s platform included a environmental responsibility and justice as one of its four pillars.
Varmecky said it was one of the clearest contrasts between the two Homewood parties. As she and her colleagues campaigned, she said they heard from residents that the village is not doing enough to protect water quality at Izaak Walton Preserve. She said there is support in the community for establishing an environmental justice commission, something she has advocated for.
Another part of the party’s platform that seemed to resonate with residents was a call for more engagement between village government and residents, she said.
“I think town halls was by far our most popular initiative. Everybody that we spoke to wanted that participation,” she said. “Even people who don’t necessarily agree with us want their voices heard more, want to be able to offer solutions and bring up problems.”