Oswego village president candidates trade accusations over campaign donations

Oswego Village President Troy Parlier and his potential challenger in the April 4 general consolidated election, Ryan Kauffman, are at odds over contributions their campaigns have received and whether they could influence village government.

Parlier is currently seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for a second term as village president in the Feb. 28 primary election. He is opposed by Brian Thomas, a village trustee.

The winner of the GOP race will face Kauffman, a former village trustee and current secretary of the Kendall County Democratic Party.

David Edelman, a village resident and business owner, raised concerns about Parlier’s campaign finances and politics during a Jan. 10 Village Board meeting.

Edelman cited contributions made to the Oswego First PAC, a political action committee Parlier chairs, by the law firm of Rosanova & Whitaker LTD. The Naperville firm represents developers of Tuscany Station, a 480-unit apartment complex that the board approved on a 5-1 vote at that same meeting. Parlier did not cast a vote on the motion to approve the project.

Tuscany Station has been in the works for many years, and received board approval in 2015 before Parlier was elected, but has since changed hands to new developers.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Rosanova & Whitaker made contributions of $2,500 on Sept. 17, 2022, and $1,000 on Dec. 31, 2021, to the Oswego First PAC which Parlier chairs, and longtime resident and former Village Trustee Dave Krahn serves as treasurer.

The $2,500 contribution Parlier’s PAC received from the law firm accounted for exactly half of the total contributions it took in last year, according to the ISBE website.

The Oswego First PAC received two other contributions on Sept. 17 totaling $2,500 — $1,250 each from Deerpath Associates LLC and Deerpath Trails Development LLC, according to the ISBE website. Deerpath Associates are responsible for the development of several residential neighborhoods in Kendall County including Deerpath Trails, Deerpath Hills and Deerpath Creek in Oswego, and Deerpath Woods in Sandwich.

Parlier acknowledged the contributions, but denied the claims of developers gaining influence. He also raised his own concerns about the campaign contributions Kauffman and Democratic PACs in Kendall County have received.

Parlier contends Kauffman has received money from PACs in previous campaigns. He also noted the Kendall County Democratic Party has received $33,000 from Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, as well as $1,000 donations from U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, and Edelman himself.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Kauffman has accepted donations from PACs in previous campaigns, and the only contribution disclosed by KauffmanForOswego was a $5,000 donation, which Kauffman said was made with his own money.

Kauffman said he is disappointed in Parlier for his handling of campaign contributions and he believes residents deserve better.

Kauffman denied taking money from Pritzker and accused Parlier of accepting contributions from the state Republican Party since his campaign treasurer, Krahn, also is executive director of the Illinois House Republican Organization.

“There is definitely a mingling of the Republican state money for local Republican candidates, specifically Troy,” Kauffman said. “I don’t take any money from JB Pritzker, nor have I ever, but Troy certainly has taken money from the state Republican Party.”

Parlier last week denied ever receiving money from the state Republican Party.

Kauffman currently serves as secretary of the Kendall County Democratic Party, but was not secretary when the contributions from JB Pritzker were received.

“I don’t think it’s right or proper,” Kauffman said of officials receiving contributions from companies with official business pending before the board.

Kauffman said his campaign contributions come from residents, friends, neighbors and family, and if elected, he would not accept money from developers or their attorneys.

“I’ve already made the pledge not to do that now and I’d like to codify that, if elected,” Kauffman said.

To ensure that elected officials don’t take money from developers or their attorneys, Kauffman has proposed drafting an ethics ordinance and creating an ethics commission to be made up of village residents, that would oversee the board and prohibit unethical campaign contributions.

“I just think that we need proper oversight to ensure that elected officials are upholding the highest ethical standards,” Kauffman said.

Kauffman said the amount he expects to spend on his campaign will depend on donations, but he also plans to continue spending “quite a bit” of his own money, mainly on advertising, signs, literature and other campaign materials.

According to ISBE, Kauffman has $5,000 on hand in his campaign fund. Parlier has previously stated he expects to spend between $12,000 and $15,000 on his campaign.