Guerrero cautiously prepares to take Joliet City Council seat

Cesar Guerrero said he’s not taking his 11-vote edge for granted but is getting ready to join the council.

Guerrero, Joe Clement and reelected council member Jan Quillman will be sworn in May 3 barring any reversal in Guerrero’s narrow lead over Robert Wunderlich.

The possibility still exists for a recount challenge in the days leading up to the swearing-in ceremony, and Wunderlich, who has not conceded, has reserved comment until the official certification of election results Tuesday.

“The way this election has gone, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point,” Guerrero said during an interview Friday.

Even so, Guerrero, 25, said he and his parents, Antonio and Yolanda Guerrero, have been flooded with calls, texts and emails since the final count of votes showed him to be a winner, albeit barely.

“It definitely is exciting, especially hearing from older members of the community, people I have known since I was a kid and people I looked up to,” he said. “To have them this excited is certainly emotional.”

This was Guerrero’s first run at political office.

But even at his young age, Guerrero is old enough to have had political aspirations, become jaded and come back to the calling that his Washington Junior High School classmates suspected he would pursue.

“People would joke and say, ‘Cesar is going to be a politician, surely,’” Guerrero said. “In middle school, I think there is still video out there of me giving speeches.”

In those days, Guerrero would give speeches on matters of social justice. But he became “jaded” while a student at Joliet West High School, following the news and observing increased polarization and petty partisanship during President Barack Obama’s administration.

“I thought, ‘Why would I get into this?’” he said.

Now he’s in – again apparently.

Among his goals is to encourage more civic involvement among young people, Hispanics and others who currently may not pay attention to city government.

Early on along the campaign trail, Guerrero said, he was surprised at the number of Joliet residents who knew nothing about the city’s plan, approved by the City Council in January, to switch to Lake Michigan water, a project estimated to cost between about $600 million and $800 million while contributing to an estimated tripling in the cost of monthly water bills by the time the project is completed in 2030.

Guerrero made water affordability a campaign issue.

If the vote totals hold up, he will be the one anti-NorthPoint candidate to get elected.

Wunderlich, Clement and Quillman were supported by local building trades unions that were strong advocates of NorthPoint Development’s Compass Global Logistics Hub, which was approved by the City Council in December.

Guerrero considers himself a progressive and was identified as such by many of the voters he met.

It’s a political persuasion, however, that he does not foresee having practical application to most issues in city government.

“I think that’s the No. 1 issue where I’ve been mischaracterized and criticized,” he said. “To be clear, I’m not here to abolish the police. I would say I’m not necessarily for even defunding the police.”

Police budgets, like other city department budgets, should be scrutinized for responsible spending, Guerrero said.

One police issue where Guerrero said he may stand out is his support for a rule requiring dismissal of police officers after three suspensions, noting he faced a similar rule when he worked in a warehouse and could be fired for three safety violations.

“I would characterize myself as a progressive,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think what we all want to see is what benefits the city of Joliet.”