Chicago City Wire

R. Cary Capparelli, a Republican running for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, has spoken out against the district's existing board.

Capparelli criticizes the current board for letting Democrats operate on their agenda freely.

"Facts are based on observation and facts are facts," Capparelli said. "The Democrat-controlled Board of the MWRD lacks the very diversity that the Democrat Party touts. Presently, the nine-member board consists of seven women and two men. It is comprised of four Black women, including its president and vice president, one white woman; one Asian woman; one Hispanic woman; one white man; and one Hispanic man. This complexity is not representative of Cook County where 51.2% of the population is female and 48.8% of the population is male. According to the last census, released July 1, 2021, Cook County is 65.2% white only, 26% Hispanic, 23.7% black alone only, and 8.1% Asian. It would be wonderful if all of these commissioners were highly qualified and the absolute best to serve the District but this is simply not correct. Each of these commissioners are Democrat operatives and each report to a Lightfoot, a Madigan, or another to push through their taxing, free-spending agenda."

According to the Evanston Roundtable, Capparelli is one of five candidates running for three spots in the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD). This is for a six-year term. Capparelli is an online professor of geography and geosciences at South Dakota State University. He also served on the Illinois International Port District board from 2000-2009. He is running against Democrats Mariyana Spyropoulos, an incumbent on the board, Patricia Theresa Flynn, a village trustee in Crestwood, and Yumeka Brown, Matteson Village Clerk. Also on the ballot is Green Party candidate Mark Buettner, who worked as a wastewater treater at the MWRD for nine years.