Geneva city council hopefuls field questions at candidate forum

Five aldermanic hopefuls for Geneva took questions Sunday Feb. 9 at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County at the Geneva Public Library.

Lee Eysturlid and Larry Furnish are vying for the 3rd Ward, while Patrice Bertheau, Jeff Palmquist and Kim Edwards are vying for the 5th Ward.

Eysturlid is a history teacher at the Illinois Math and Science Academy who said they moved to Geneva in 2001. He said he has a Ph.D. in history, specializing in military history, ethics and government.

“My interest in government often tends to be more theoretical, which leads me to actually try to be practical,” Eysterlid said.

Furnish said he has been a Geneva resident for 35 years.

“I’m very passionate about being involved in the community,” Furnish said.

“For over 10 years, we’ve had garage sales in our front yard donating proceeds to Lazarus House. A few years ago, I received an award from Geneva High School for volunteering for the girls gymnastics team for over 20 years. For the past 15 years, I’ve worked both the Swedish Days and Festival of the Vine tent for the Geneva Chamber,” Furnish said.

He was also recognized by the Chamber as Volunteer of the Year in 2024.

Furnish is also co-founder of the Becky Furnish Foundation, named for his late wife, a Geneva teacher. The foundation raises money which buys school supplies, funds field trips, winter coats and scholarships.

In the 5th Ward, Bertheau said she has three core principles: transparency, accountability and competency.

“Enhancing communication at the municipal level involves several strategies aimed at improving the effectiveness, responsiveness and inclusivity of local government,” Bertheau said.

“You have a right to know how your community is being managed. And I will make it my priority to keep you informed. Accountability is not just a buzz word, it’s a pledge,” Bertheau said. “I understand with every vote and every policy, I am accountable to you.”

Edwards, a resident since 2007, said she agreed with Bertheau about transparency and accountability.

“My third piece of the puzzle is safety,” Edwards said. “I believe that that is an issue that we need to focus on with a little more clarity, particularly in my ward, the 5th Ward.”

Palmquist said this was his first time running for public office.

“My wife and I love Geneva. Our grown children were born and raised here. And we’ve decided there’s no better place – as we approach retirement – than Geneva, Illinois,” Palmquist said.

Palmquist said he has spent 40 years in city planning and municipal government.

“I feel like it’s time to give back to my community,” Palmquist said. “I spent a career focusing on making other places better. I’d like the opportunity – with your support – to apply that to my hometown of Geneva.”

Regarding the improvement of development in Geneva, Furnish said the big problem is getting various projects to move forward.

“The city and whoever is developing has to come to an agreement to move forward,” Furnish said.

Bertheau said to address economic development requires a multi-task approach.

“One would be to streamline city services,” Bertheau said. “It’s very difficult at the moment to get a permit, and processes through the city. It’s a confusing and overly burdensome process.”

For Edwards, economic development requires “taking a step at reflection.”

“We recently made some changes where we’re looking at the area-wide possibilities and looking at changing some of the advertising we do through the Chamber of Commerce – it’s a wonderful Chamber of Commerce,” Edwards said. “We need to take a pause to reflect, to make sure we are going in the right direction in some of these areas instead of forging ahead with certain ideas.”

Palmquist said as developable land in Geneva shrinks, officials should be flexible with zoning “and see how we can assist whether it’s through TIF districts or other grants.”

Eysterlid said he studied the 2011 Downtown Master Plan, but said Geneva should have a city-wide plan going forward for 2026-27.

“And we can start looking at things, like livability in Geneva. This is a place where most people live, a lot of us work outside of Geneva, but we like to shop and do things in Geneva,” Eysterlid said.

“How about walkability? How about bike lanes? How about the ability to get to different places within town? Why do we have to have bigger buildings? Why can’t we have it where everybody feels comfortable?” Eysterlid said. “I think we have time to be thoughtful in our development.”

Kevin Ziegler, who is also seeking to be a 3rd Ward alderperson, did not attend the forum.

A video of the forum is available on the League’s Facebook page.