Meed the candidates: Learn more about 5 people running for the 53rd Senate district seat
It was just a couple of months ago that Sen. Tom Bennett officially announced his decision to retire from politics. Seemingly in no time, the field for the race to take his place as the state senator for the 53rd District has grown to seven hopefuls.
Last week, five of those candidates gathered at The Cup and Scone in Pontiac at the invitation of Rep. Dennis Tipsword. Tipsword's 105th House district is part of the 53rd Senate district.
Attending were hopefuls Chris Balkema, Jesse Faber, Mike Kirkton, Gary Manier and Susan Wynn Bence. Among those also in attendance were Tipsword, Rep. Jason Bunting, R-Dwight, and Bennett.
Two candidates — Paul Ducat and Scott Preston — had prior engagements and were unable to attend.
The following is a look at each of the five candidates in attendance, including where they are from and a little information on them.
Chris Balkema
Location: Channahon
About: Balkema is currently the chairman of the Grundy County Board, a position he has held for six years. He has been on that board for 13 years. Unfunded mandates are an issue Balkema said is hurting Illinois residents and is something he'll look to fix if elected.
“I'm very excited to get off the sidelines and stop complaining about all the unfunded mandates that are coming down and roll up the sleeves and take some action," he said. "For the last four years on the county board, we've actually reduced the levy. Not the rate, which ebb and flows with the assessed value, but the actual amount we extract from taxpayers.”
Jesse Faber
Location: Pontiac
Faber has been a teacher at Pontiac Township High School for 17 years and leads the FFA program. He has not served in public office before but has served on the Livingston County Farm Bureau Board for more than a decade. He said he is passionate about the agriculture industry and education.
“The last seven years, I was the original chair of our legislative committee for Illinois Ag teachers, and I still continue with that. I'm very proud of some of the things that we've done to help our agricultural industry, to help our people, particularly in 4H and FFA, to work for things like teacher retention, particularly in our smaller, rural schools. Those are the things I have been able to work and develop bills, advocate for them, provide testimony in front of different chambers and see how that process works.”
Mike Kirkton
Location: Gridley
Kirkton is former Livingston County Board member and works on the family farm along the Livingston-McLean County line near Gridley. He served more than 25 years in the U.S. Army. He said there are two issues that concern him the most:
Constituent services — Kirkton said the constituents and voters of the district come first, and their voice needs to be heard. Kirkton also said serving residents of the 53rd district could include voting "no" on bills that don't benefit the residents.
Educating across aisle about the 53rd — “This is an ag centric district. Farming is our number one economy driver in this district, and I think it's on us to educate those across the aisle that have never seen a cornfield, don't know what it's like to be in a combine combining corn and beans.”
Gary Manier
Location: Washington
About: Manier has served as mayor of the city of Washington since 2001. He was a member of the Washington school board before ascending to mayor. Manier was in charge of the city when a devastating tornado hit the community in 2013. He said he'd use that experience to help make changes if elected.
“That pension reform is killing us. Unfunded mandates are what everybody is talking about, we need to do something about it.”
Susan Wynn Bence
Location: Watseka
The most recent candidate to throw her hat into the ring, Wynn Bence is no stranger to the world of government. She has worked in social services, education, government affairs and is a bailiff in Iroquois County. Wynn Bence is a past president for the Illinois Federation of Republican Women and served on board of the National Republican Women organization. She also served as delegate for the national GOP convention in 2016 and again in 2020. She also served as the downstate director and principal staffer for then Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti.
“Policy is what I love. I love writing policy and researching and the legislation, and working with the legislation research unit is a passion.”
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Candidates for 53rd Senate district make group introduction in Pontiac
