Brudnak and Schirmacher receive across-the-board endorsements

Brudnak and Schirmacher receive across-the-board endorsements
John Brudnak, the Orland Fire Protection District commissioner, and Jayne Schirmacher are running for two contested seats on the Orland Fire Protection District.
Brudnak is a professional who cares about taxpayers and Schirmacher has much respect in the community. Brudnak's ballot punch number is 271 and Schirmacher's ballot punch number is 272.
Both candidates have received across-the-board endorsements from local elected officials. It's unprecedented when the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, and village and township officials all agree on the same thing.
But that's just what has happened.
Brudnak and Schirmacher have been endorsed by Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin, a Democrat, Cook County Commissioner Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, a Republican, and by Orland Park Trustee Brad O'Halloran who is an independent. But the endorsements also reach past Orland Park to include the Township.
Brudnak and Schirmacher also have the endorsements of Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings and Orland Township Supervisor Paul O'Grady.
You can't get better than that.
Brudnak and Schirmacher want to continue the change that Jim Hickey, Chris Evoy and Blair Rhode. Before Hickey became Board President and Evoy and Blair joined the board two years ago, the Fire District was spending money and increasing taxes like crazy.
Brudnak and Schumacher support the changes brought to the Orland Fire Protection District by Hickey, Evoy and Blair and oppose the excess spending that characterized the old board that was ousted. The new board leadership hired one of the most qualified people to serve as fire chief, Ken Brucki.
The new board removed the disgraced former Fire Chief whose taxpayer funded laptop was discovered to contain pornography. It's amazing that he continues to have supporters, including three former activists who undermined the Senior Advisory Commission and turned it into a political group that ended up collapsing. A new senior group is being formed and it will not be political. The allies of the disgraced former fire chief will no longer be able to undermine the group's true mission to help seniors.
(It might be wise for voters to look up these activists. One moved from Oakbrook Terrace and another is related to the disgraced former fire chief.)
Brudnak and Schirmacher are a part of the move to cleanup the Orland Fire Protection District, make it accountable to the taxpayers (the district for the first time is now transparent and information can be obtained off the district's web site), the budget spending has been brought under control, saving more than $4 million in the past two years alone.
Brudnak and Schirmacher support that mission which is driven by the demands made by taxpayers to bring change.
The taxpayers are not listening to the privileged voices who were tied to the disgraced former fire chief and his political allies, most of whom have been removed from the board.
(Reader's note: I work as a communications contractor for the Orland Fire Protection District receiving a contract salary that is 25 percent less than the person who held the position before me. But I live in Orland Park and I support the mission to hold the line on spending, to focus on essentials, to make services efficient and to remember that our mission is two-fold, protect our residents and manage the taxpayer's money responsibly.)
-- Ray Hanania