A. George Pradel

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A. George Pradel
40th Mayor of Naperville
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1995
Preceded by Samuel Macrane
Political party unaffiliated
Spouse Patricia Pradel
Children George, Carol and Gary
Residence Naperville, Illinois

A. George Pradel is the current mayor of Naperville, Illinois and the longest-serving mayor of Naperville to date.[1] He was elected mayor in 1995 and reelected in 1999, 2003, and 2007. A former Naperville Police officer and life-long Naperville resident, Pradel is known for his many public appearances, friendly demeanor and his demonstrated enthusiasm for Naperville.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

George Pradel grew up in Naperville, Illinois as the oldest of six children. After graduating from what is now Naperville Central High School, he served for three years in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1966 he joined the Naperville Police Department, where he spent much of his career visiting schools and speaking to children with the nickname "Officer Friendly," a moniker that stuck for 28 years and became an asset in his future election as mayor.[3] In 1977, Naperville started Safety Town, and Mayor Rybicki named Pradel to be its first teacher.

In 1992, Pradel underwent quadruple-bypass heart surgery, but soon-after recovered to full health.

[edit] Elections

[edit] 1995

Pradel entered the 1995 race for mayor of Naperville with no political background or history as an elected official. He faced three opponents in a February primary election that would narrow the field to only two candidates. The other candidates in the primary were Archer Stella, Jack Tenison and Doug Krause. Krause, an active city councilman, had run for mayor previously in 1991 and lost to Samuel Macrane.[4] Pradel won the most votes in the primary, but Tenison was behind by only four votes and was in second place, earning him a spot on the April fourth general election ballot.[5] Tenison was a two-term city council member who also headed the human resources department for DuPage County.

A geographical break-down of votes revealed that while Tenison did well in Naperville's south side in Will County, where he took 47 percent of the vote to Pradel's 21 percent, Pradel was strongest in Naperville's township, which included the established downtown area.[6] Pradel said he did well in the downtown area because the older and more established area held many residents who knew him from his years as "Officer Friendly" with the Naperville Police Department. He vowed to focus campaigning for the general election on Naperville's south side to get a better foothold in the area.

Debate in the general election focused mainly on the role of the mayor in Naperville, where a City manager form of government is employed and mayoral duties are defined as part-time. The last three mayors of Naperville were retirees and had treated the job as full-time, a tradition that Pradel said he would continue if elected. Tenison would continue his job with the human resources department in DuPage County, but said he would hold evening office-hours if elected.[7]

The race was expected to be close, with former candidates Krause and Stella endorsing Pradel[8] and Tenison receiving the endorsement of local newspaper The Daily Herald.[9] Tenison was also a bigger election spender, having spent $8,851 after one reporting period while Pradel had spent $6,278.[10]

Pradel won the April fourth election with unofficial results showing Pradel with 9,300 votes and Tenison with 6,469, a wide margin that surprised political pundits, most of whom had declined to predict a winner and said the race was too close to call.[11]

[edit] 1999

Although Pradel's 2007 reelection website stated that Pradel "won overwhelmingly in his first election and was unchallenged in his next two mayoral elections,"[12] Pradel actually faced retired accountant Ric Romano in his second mayoral election in 1999, although the race was not close.[13] Romano hoped to take advantage of a controversial commercial development in an area known as Spring Green on the corner of Naper Boulevard and Hobson Road. Pradel supported the 6.3 acre development that would include a beauty salon, dental office, and 10 single-family homes as a good compromise,[14] despite criticism from local newspapers The Daily Herald and The Naperville Sun, as well opposition from residents who petitioned against the development.[15]

Still, Pradel received the endorsements of both the Herald[16] and the Sun[17] and easily won the election with 10,293 votes to Romano's 1,952 votes, a feat attributed by the Herald to Pradel's high public visibility and growing popularity.[18]

[edit] 2003 (unopposed)

With a lack of divisive issues and Mayor Pradel's popularity soaring, there were no other candidates in the race for mayor in 2003.[19]

[edit] 2007

Pradel was joined by two experienced city council members on the primary ballot in 2007. The other candidates were Doug Krause, who had also participated in the 1991 and 1995 races, and 12-year city-councilwoman Mary Ellingson. Because voters could only vote for one candidate in the primary, Pradel was worried that a majority of people would consider him a shoe-in and cast a vote for their choice among the other two candidates, consequently leading to his elimination in the primary. The typically low voter turn-out in primary elections added to this concern. So even though Pradel still enjoyed overwhelming popularity in the city, he campaigned rigorously and sent letters to constituents reminding them to vote.

Despite Pradel's worries, he received 70.1 percent of the primary vote, or 7,884 votes in an unofficial total, compared to Ellingson's 1,596 votes and Krause's 1,766.[20] Because Krause received more votes than Ellingson, he was able to join Pradel on the general election ballot in April. Once out of the race, Ellingson publicly gave her support to Krause, saying that she believed the people of Naperville wanted to see a new face.[21]

In the general election, Krause told reporters he would not accept donations from developers or companies that do business with the city. Pradel said he didn't hold those views, telling The Naperville Sun that he was "thrilled" that any individual or group would donate to a campaign.[22] The Sun reported Pradel's total funds at over $27,000 and Krause at about $7,200 at one point during the weeks leading up to the election.

Pradel ultimately won reelection with 12,904 total votes or 69 percent compared to Krause's 5,688 votes according to unofficial results.[23]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Election to fourth term will seal deal as longest-serving mayor for city" Kate R. Houlihan, Naperville Sun, April 18, 2007
  2. ^ "Pradel reaps rewards of popularity" Stacy St. Claire, Naperville Sun, April 14, 1999
  3. ^ "'Officer Friendly' seeks new title - 'mayor' - Helping people made Pradel's career complete" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, February 24, 1995
  4. ^ "Dishing up another helping at life's 'banquet table'" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, February 25, 1995
  5. ^ "Voters pick final line-up Pradel, Tenison keep spots in race for mayor" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, March 1, 1995
  6. ^ "The politics of geography Mayoral Primary reveals city-splits" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, March 2, 1995
  7. ^ "Krause backs Pradel in mayoral race" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, March 3, 1995
  8. ^ "Pradel gets support of former competitor - Archer Stella supports Pradel" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, March 2, 1995
  9. ^ Daily Herald Editorial, March 8, 1995
  10. ^ "Mayoral hopeful Tenison biggest election spender" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, March 22, 1995
  11. ^ "Naperville picks 'Officer Friendly' Pradel defeats - Tenison for mayor" Lorilyn Rackl, Daily Herald, April 5, 1995
  12. ^ Reelect Mayor A. George Pradel for Mayor of Naperville
  13. ^ "Mayor candidate to capitalize on Spring Green controversy" Stacy St. Claire, Daily Herald, March 17, 1999
  14. ^ "Spring Green Opposition: 'The fight is not over'" Britt Carson, The Naperville Sun, February 19, 1999
  15. ^ "Spring Green May Set Bad Precedent" Naperville Sun Editorial, February 24, 1999
  16. ^ Daily Herald Editorial, March 23, 1999
  17. ^ "Sun Endorsements: Mayor Pradel Merit's 2nd Term" Editorial, April 4, 1999
  18. ^ "Pradel reaps rewards of popularity" Stacy St. Claire, Daily Herald, April 14, 1999
  19. ^ "Sun endorsements for city council" Editorial, Naperville Sun, March 26, 2003
  20. ^ "Ellingson says she will put support behind Krause" Kate R. Houlihan, Naperville Sun, February 28, 2007
  21. ^ "Ellingson says she will put support behind Krause" Kate R. Houlihan, Naperville Sun, February 28, 2007
  22. ^ "Krause, Pradel differ from whom they will accept political funds" Kate R. Houlihan, Naperville Sun, March 25, 2007
  23. ^ "Election to fourth term will seal deal as longest-serving mayor for city" Kate R. Houlihan, Naperville Sun, April 18, 2007