Four Clarendon Hills residents announced a slate Tuesday, Oct. 20, for next April's village election, setting up the first competitive race for village president in more than a decade.

Keith Chval is running for village president. Kathleen Hirsman, Erika Jones and Derek White are running for three trustee seats. The group announced its candidacy in a news release, according to Patch, which first reported the announcement.

Clarendon Hills has not had a contested village president election since the Obama administration, Patch reported. The last competitive Village Board election was in 2021.

Whether Village President Eric Tech plans to seek a second term is unclear. Patch reported it left a message with Tech on Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The slate's announcement comes after a turbulent stretch for village government. The Village Board ousted its fire chief in early 2024 and its village manager in 2025, providing severance packages in both cases. Former Fire Chief Brian Leahy received a $50,000 settlement plus more than $54,000 in accrued vacation and sick time after a 52-year career with the department, Patch reported. His departure followed an investigation that found more than 1,500 violations of the village's firefighter callback policy over three years.

Village Manager Zach Creer was put on leave in August 2025 and left the village under a resignation agreement in October 2025, according to Patch. The village president and all six trustees declined to publicly explain the reason for Creer's exit.

Downtown development has also divided the community. Trustees pursued a plan to convert a traffic triangle on Prospect Avenue into a public plaza, then backed off after months of resident opposition. In September, the board unanimously approved a scaled-back $1.9 million no-bid downtown improvement contract over continued protests, as Patch reported.

Two of the slate's candidates have been vocal on the issue. Jones told the Village Board at its Sept. 22 meeting that "the pared-down plan still sounds expensive" and warned that removing parking would drive people away from downtown. Hirsman has also questioned the village's downtown proposals, according to Patch.

Chval and Hirsman are known locally for their service on the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board of Education.

In their news release, the candidates said they would not take positions on any single current village issue. They said they want to move beyond divisions and ensure future decisions reflect a wider range of views. The candidates also said residents have raised concerns about a lack of public disclosure on village issues and rising tensions among neighbors.

The four are not the only challengers. Former Trustee Taps Gallagher announced in July 2026 that he would run for a trustee seat. Gallagher, an attorney who served on the board from 2001 to 2005 and briefly again in 2021 before resigning over a conflict of interest, has criticized the board's handling of downtown plans. At the board's Sept. 22 meeting, he pressed trustees: "What is the rush?"

Trustees stayed silent.

The slate plans a petition-signing meet-and-greet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Tierra Distilling Co. & Cafe, 211 Burlington Ave.

Clarendon Hills government week ahead

No additional Clarendon Hills Village Board meetings or public hearings for the week of Oct. 21 were listed in available sources. The next regular board meeting date was not specified in the research reviewed for this article. Residents can check the Village of Clarendon Hills website for updated agendas and public comment sign-up information.