Newly elected Oswego village trustee resigns to accept out-of-state job

Newly elected Oswego Village Trustee Luis Perez has resigned from the board to pursue an out-of-state job opportunity.

The announcement was made during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting.

“It is with great sadness that I leave you guys.”

—  Outgoing Oswego Village Trustee Luis Perez

“I’ve got some great news and some really melancholy news,” Perez said in making the announcement. “If you’ve ever been in a position in your life where you’ve had two great decisions that you could choose from at any given time, it’s great and it can be tough…I have accepted a position with a chain known down south as Food City. For us up here, I would say they’re kind of like the Meijer of the south. The role I will be taking in June is to lead their operations and their new business development on behalf of their enterprise for Ace Hardware Corporation.”

He has led new business development for Ace Hardware Corporation for more than 20 years. Food City last year became affiliated with Ace Hardware.

“It is with great sadness that I leave you guys,” Perez said. “I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to learning from you and just being part of this group. If you haven’t noticed, I like it here. It’s a lot of fun in this seat and I never take it for granted. And I’m going to miss that dearly.”

Under state statute, Village President Ryan Kauffman must appoint a replacement, with the advice and consent of the Village Board. He thanked Perez for his service.

The appointed trustee will serve until the 2025 consolidated election, at which time a candidate will be elected to serve the remaining two years of Perez’s term. Perez was elected to the Village Board in April 2023 and his term expires in April 2027.

He previously served on the board from 2015 to 2021.

Those who want to apply for the vacancy can find an application on the village’s website. The application must be submitted by 5 p.m. May 30.

Kauffman will announce his appointment on June 8, and it will appear on the June 13 board meeting agenda for board approval.

“Everyone who lives in Oswego and meets the residency requirement is encouraged to apply,” Kauffman said. “This is an incredible board and it is an incredible time to be a member of this board and it’s an incredible time to be a resident of Oswego. So I would encourage anyone with even a slight interest to go ahead and apply.”