Walnut: Candidates withdraw names

On Friday, Bureau County Clerk Kami Hieronymus said village president candidate Robert Brasen and village trustee candidate Lori Wilkinson came into her office on the same day to withdraw their names from the April 9 ballot. Both Brasen and Wilkinson are incumbents to the Walnut Village Board, and their request arrived in time to have their name withdrawn.

Brasen said his decision to not run for another term as mayor was not a decision made lightly.

When asked what led to his decision, Brasen said there are things within the village government’s infrastructure with which he disagrees.

“The only thing that I would say for now is there are beliefs in the village’s governance infrastructure that I cannot and/or will not agree with, that will cause the village to waste assets in trying to resolve some of the deficiencies and opportunities that I feel need to be addressed,” Brasen said.

Wilkinson also commented on her reason for withdrawing from the April race.

“Serving as a trustee for the last four years has been quite an experience. I feel that in the past two years, the board has made tremendous strides in improving the infrastructure of the village under the leadership of Village President Bob Brasen,” Wilkinson said. “However it is very evident this trend will not likely continue. There is a division among the trustees that I feel will continue and could only get worse. I refuse to serve on a board where it seems apparent that what is best for the community is not being accomplished. The decision to withdraw from the election was very difficult, and I will certainly miss serving the residents of the village.” 

In looking at filling those positions on the Walnut Village Board, Hieronymus said it is too late for write-in candidates to be placed on the April ballot. However, for the trustee position, there were five candidates for three open positions, so Wilkinson’s withdrawal will not leave a vacancy on the village board, she said.