Newcomer city clerk hopeful gets DeKalb mayor’s endorsement

DeKALB – Citing the turnover that’s plagued the city clerk’s office in recent years and a desire for stability, DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said he’d liked to see Bradley Hoey elected to the position.

Hoey is seeking the office alongside two former clerks, Lynn Fazekas and Steve Kapitan. All are running on April 1 as write-in candidates after no one filed for ballot placement in November.

“When it comes to the three candidates that are running for city clerk, two of them have been in that role before and did not finish their term,” Barnes said. “And that’s one of the issues we’ve had with the city clerk’s role is since, I think, 2009 no one has ever finished the term, which has caused a lot of turmoil, a lot of disruption with the city of DeKalb.”

Fazekas did finish the term she was appointed to in 2018, serving the remainder of that term until 2021. Kapitan, elected in 2009, resigned before his term was up in 2012. He was the last person to serve in the office as a full-time clerk.

[ Video: Shaw Local DeKalb City Clerk candidates forum ]

Last year, the City Council eliminated the clerk’s salary. The City Council also appointed a full-time staffer to a new position, Recording Secretary, meant to carry out the clerk’s duties in their absence. City leaders said Council actions were needed to ensure clerk duties and proper record-keeping were maintained since a judge removed controversial former Clerk Sasha Cohen from office.

Barnes said having a newcomer, like Bradley Hoey, would benefit the City.

“He’s a long-time resident of DeKalb,” Barnes said. “He’s a consummate professional. If he should win, I think he would be good in that role.”

Fazekas and Kapitan said they’d push to restore the clerk’s salary, if elected.

“I guarantee you that if the office were compensated to the degree that it should be that you would see people getting out and getting their petitions filled,” Fazekas said. “You’d see names on the ballot.”

Kapitan said he’d also want to see the office restored to a full-time gig. He said he plans to only serve one term if elected.

“I wanted to fight for that happening and then whoever runs four years from now would benefit from that,” Kapitan said. “If it’s established at a reasonable salary, the city could attract some quality candidates.”

But Hoey said he doesn’t feel like the need to push for the salary’s return. Hoey is a retired Northern Illinois University communications staffer who works part-time for the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“I’ll leave that at the discretion of the city leadership,” Hoey said. “As it is right now, this is an elected position and there’s some responsibilities that need to be upheld.”

Barnes said the City hasn’t had discussions yet about how a newly-elected Clerk post April 1 will perform their duties, since the responsibilities are carried out by a city employee currently.

Nicklas said the City is committed to honoring the results of the election.

“We have to honor whatever the voters decide if it’s a certified victory by this or that person,” Nicklas said. “Then, that’s the way it is. That’s how that all works.”

When asked about how the City might ensure “professionalism" in the elected clerk’s office, Nicklas said there’s nothing to address.

“The elected clerk will have really no duties and no pay and no office,” Nicklas said. “We have an executive assistant right now who performs all the duties that are defined in our ordinances.”

In November 2024, DeKalb voters backed keeping the office an elected one in a clerk advisory referendum.

Barnes said he is not aware that the city is looking to take another shot at a referendum.

“We are not considering another referendum at this time,” Barnes said.