Two vying for Village Clerk in Village of Rockton

Two vying for Village Clerk in Village of Rockton
By Marianne Mueller
REPORTER
Two ladies are vying for the position of Rockton Village Clerk.
Christina Stewart first took over as village clerk in September 2014 after being appointed to finish Sarah Pranies’ term. She was officially elected to a two-year term in April, 2015.
Stewart sees her membership in the Northwestern Illinois Municipal Clerks Association, the Municipal Clerks of Illinois and the International Institute of Municipal Clerks among her greatest qualifications for the position.
Stewart is close to her first certification as a clerk and graduated from the Municipal Clerks of Illinois Institute in the fall of 2016. “I will return to the Municipal Clerks Academy in the fall of 2017 if re-elected.
Stewart wants to run again to assure continuity in the office and to implement software programs.
“I take great pride in my position with the Village and would like to continue serving the Rockton community,” said Stewart.
“I enjoy working with the citizens of the village and providing services to those citizens. I feel I have a lot of knowledge of the municipality, how it runs and how things are done.”
Stewart was a police officer in Rockton from 1997-2002. Stewart’s husband Tim has been a member of the Rockton Fire Protection District for 28 years and is currently serving as Deputy Chief. Stewart’s youngest daughter, Alayna attends Rockton Grade School where Stewart volunteers. Her older daughter, Olivia attends Stephen Mack Middle School.
Amy Rosenblatt Towne received great encouragement by her husband Jordan to run for Village Clerk. Towne and her family have lived in Rockton five years. Towne’s has been a dental assistant over 20 years.
“I feel like being Village Clerk is something I could just jump into and to learn the ropes.
If elected this would be a great way to get to know the people in the community and to learn the clerk job and to do it with pride. “Everyone here is so kind and so generous, “said Towne. The Townes have two girls, her older daughter Madeline and younger daughter, Eloise.

Dale Adams is running for his fifth term as Rockton Village President. “This is the only year since I first ran that I have run with no opposition, “said Adams.
Adams has been in office since 2001.If elected he will be in his fifth term. Why is Adams running for reelection? “I had some health issues and debated running again, but I now feel healthy enough to do another term,” said Adams.
“I would like to see projects finished such as the Highway 75, the Sonoco Plant and continued commercial growth in town. There have been a lot of changes in Rockton since I first took office,” said Adams. “I am looking forward to four more years of serving the community and having the same success I have had in past terms.”
Three Trustee seats are open with three running for a spot.
Trustee Dave Winters is completing his third term and is heading into his fourth. Winters has been on the Village board since 1995.
“The first time I ran for office I didn’t have a specific reason to run other than trying to help my community and become more involved. I decided to run again to be a voice for the community,” said Winters.
“I believe we have room to grow but it has to be growth that makes sense for Rockton. We have established the downtown development area to help create a more vibrant downtown in an effort to make it more of a destination.”
Winters served on the village planning board prior to being elected as a Trustee.
“After I was elected I was on Public Works. On my second term I moved to Administrative and Budget committee and remains on the same committee currently.
Winters have been an active community volunteers participating in many cleanup efforts, Rockton in Bloom as well and various other projects. On the sidelines winters volunteers as a head coach of a girls fast pitch softball team based in Belvidere but girls from the Rockton area have participated.
Winters was also instrumental in getting the Rockton Athletic park developed. “There is still more to do there but we have made a great start.”
Trustee, Scott Fridly started on the Rockton Village Board in 2012 and is seeking another term. Fridly has worked tirelessly on the Rockton Athletic Fields over the years and has served on the Administrative Committee (Admin and Budget) and the Budget and Finance Committee.
Arianne Honkamp is throwing her hat into the ring hoping to land a Trustee seat. “I decided to run for Trustee because I love the Village of Rockton and would like to be able to represent the Village. ”I would like to be a voice for those individuals who may not have the opportunity,” said Honkamp.
Honkamp is a five-year member of the Rockton Lions Club. Additionally she has volunteered at many school functions, and sports program that have been done throughout the years, Art Sandler Stateline, Rockton Lions Football, the Bruce Samlan Soccer League, and the Whitman Post running club.
“One of my favorite things to do every year is to be part of Wimpy’s fund. We are able to give back to the less fortunate in our community. My husband and children do this as well,” says Honkamp. “I am so excited about the prospect of becoming part of the board. I have some great friends who work for the Village and I would be proud to stand next to them.”
Trustee Pat Hoey will stepping out of his position. “Pat has been an excellent Trustee for the Village,” said Adams.
Trustee John Peterson and Trustee Jodi May each will retain their seats for a term of two more years.