Adding to an already contentious ward race, a coalition of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 community members called for accountability from 6th Ward City Council candidate Candance Chow in a Wednesday news release.
The news release referred to Chow’s purported record of “failed leadership” during her tenure as District 65 school board president and member.
“Under Chow’s leadership, the district’s financial situation spiraled into crisis,” the news release read. “Evanston residents deserve ethical, responsible leadership.”
Chow served on the District 65 board from 2013 to 2020, as finance chair for several years and as board president from 2016 to 2017.
In remarks to The Daily, Chow denied the accusations.
“It’s sad that these attacks are out there to distract from my real record, which I’m very proud of, on behalf of D65,” Chow said.
Chow has presented herself as a financial stalwart yet faces accusations of leading the district into its current financial crisis. The coalition said she helped select then-Superintendent Devon Horton, whose policy they said propelled the district into excessive debt.
She told The Daily she had participated in the effort to hire Horton, but there had been no “red flags” disclosed to the board.
Chow said she resigned from the board in February 2020 because of family obligations, before Horton started his stint as superintendent. Chow said she largely blames the board for the district’s financial situation after her resignation.
“I put the lion’s share of that responsibility — in addition to him being a bad actor — on the board that then served and did not hold him accountable,” she said.
The news release, issued by four District 65 families, further deepens the hostilities that have shrouded the 6th Ward race thus far.
On Feb. 6, Chow issued a news release that accused incumbent Ald. Tom Suffredin (6th) of harboring numerous conflicts of interest while serving on City Council. Suffredin has worked as a state lobbyist during his council tenure but has maintained that he has not received any ethics complaints.
However, Chow told The Daily that she does not regret releasing her initial accusation against Suffredin, affirming that her claims were based on “factual pieces of information.”
This conflict came to the fore during Evanston’s Feb. 9 candidate forum, when Suffredin directly challenged Chow to file a formal complaint against him.
At the forum, Suffredin said that he was the only candidate in the race that has not faced an ethics investigation. This, in part, referenced Chow’s 2018 campaign for state representative, when her campaign sent materials to a district email account, a violation of District 65 policy.
Chow acknowledged the occurrence of this ethics investigation and said she cooperated fully. Ultimately, the board determined her actions appeared “merely careless,” and she did not receive disciplinary action. Chow calls it “a rookie mistake.”
Regardless, she expressed discontent with how the coalition had handled its concerns.
“I wish they would have reached out to me and asked whatever questions they had,” Chow said. “I’d be more than happy to share honestly and forthrightly the answers to the questions.”
Email: MarisaGuerraEcheverria2027@u.northwestern.edu
Email: SophieBaker2028@u.northwestern.edu
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— Bitter broadsides, personal digs animate debates among Evanston candidates
— Council, mayoral hopefuls gather for contentious forum ahead of Evanston election
— 6th Ward incumbent Suffredin refutes challenger Chow’s ‘conflict of interest’ claims
