On April 10, the NIU community will have a historic opportunity to participate in the only remaining form of pure democracy that still exists. If you are a registered voter in the City of DeKalb, you will have the chance to vote to place three very important advisory referenda questions on the November general election ballot.

1. “Shall the City of DeKalb continue to operate as a City Manager form of government?”

2. “Shall the City of DeKalb continue to be a Home Rule city?”

3. “Should the DeKalb Public Library become a library district instead of a municipal library?”

All three of these issues have been intensely discussed by the community, but local leaders, including DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen have chosen to ignore the discussion.

The irony is that Mayor Povlsen constantly insists that he wants to hear from the public on important issues affecting the city, but when citizens come forward at city council meetings and express an opinion that he disagrees with, Mayor Povlsen will often ignore or lecture the speaker.

To an extreme, a few weeks ago, he had representatives from the NIU Center for Black Studies escorted out of the city council chambers by police. A travesty.

This mayor clearly has his head buried in the sand. We need to send our mayor and city council a message.

I would like to encourage you to come to the Annual Township Meeting at the township offices 2323 S. Fourth St. (Rt. 23) on April 10 at 7 p.m. and vote “YES”.

Mark Charvart

DeKalb resident