Politics & Government
Letter to the Editor: Burns' Experience Makes Him Right for the Job
Mike Donahue: Consider the analogy of the CEO job candidate, and you'll see why Kevin Burns is best qualified to serve as Kane County Board chairman.
To the Editor:
I am one of six Kane County Board members who endorsed Kevin Burns for County Board chairman. I did so because I have known Kevin as a friend and colleague for more than 20 years. But my endorsement is supported by a more practical consideration than that; he is the most qualified candidate for the job.
Why? Consider this simple analogy:
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An organization with a $230 million annual budget is looking for a new CEO. The CEO’s primary responsibility is to run day-to-day operations in a responsible and cost-effective manner. There are two top candidates for the job.
Candidate A is the CEO of a smaller, but very similar organization. He is responsible for day-to-day operations and by all measures he has done an outstanding job managing the organization in a fiscally responsible manner.
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Candidate B serves on the board of directors of a much larger organization (i.e., the Illinois Senate), but he has no experience running day-to-day operations and the organization’s fiscal performance worsened considerably while on his watch. Candidate B claims the poor performance is not his fault, but after 20 years, he has been unable to influence a better outcome.
Based on this analogy, it seems clear that Candidate A is more qualified, but I also considered each candidate as a person. Candidate A has undergone some considerable adversity in his personal life. Candidate B espouses high moral character and strong family values. But, in neither case does it appear that personal matters have had an affect on their job performance. In fact, the candidate dealing with more personal adversity performed better in his job than the candidate who claims more virtue.
If I am re-elected, I pledge to work productively with the new County Board chairman, whoever it is. But, I can only vote for one person and I am going vote for the most qualified candidate. This means no disrespect to Mr. Lauzen, but his experience as a state senator does not translate to the position like Mayor Burns’ does.
I encourage voters to make a practical choice for the most qualified candidate and vote for Kevin Burns.
Mike Donahue
Geneva
Kane County Board Member, District 11
