Is this not similar to push-polling which is designed to lead to the preferred candidate and generally funded by that candidate in often indirect ways.

My hope that the right candidate will be one of integrity who maintains all that is good while at the same time leading us into an dynamic and innovative future.
A person who is a leader who while striving to build consensus, is also willing to lead us to places we have never been. Sometimes this means going against the current. Leadership should not just be a popularity contest. I hope for a true visionary who is willing to tackle the tough issues we face. Some boat rocking is often a positive. All candidates seem to be eminently qualified. My thought is that Mr. Mulliner and Mrs. Gutenkauf will appeal to the same constituencies and thus divide the vote leaving a majority for Mr. Morley. I predicted a similar event in the last Mayoral race. Those who might have deeper understanding of the dynamics of this race are asked to please offer some thoughts and insight.

Based on Ms. Gutenkauf's response, it appears to be pretty obvious that she is the one involved with this call. We certainly don't need this kind of negative, mean spirited campaigning here in Elmhurst. I will vote against Ms. Gutenkauf.

Elect the robocaller for Mayor. It will speak only when spoken to. It doesn't have an ego to feed. It doesn't care if no one likes it.

It can be programed with various municipal fiscal responsibility routines containing many "if - then" constructs that will value and favor the revenue producers (taxpayers). The word TIFF or Consultant will not be in it's vocabulary. It cannot hold another job.

Since it has no ego, it will not desire or seek higher political aspirations. It will make all the hard related decisions without prejudice and the need to form meaningless committees and / or commissions.

Joe and Independence

Who would you favor and why?

yes, you are correct i666. but what's really amazing is how she fooled so many people in her little CAVE party for so long. I mean for someone to hang their hat on the mantel of "TRANSPARENCY" for all these years; and then to order, or at a minimum be a party to, this most deceptive of Robo Call Surveys is the absolute height of HYPOCRISY !
...... and then in the category of "does she really think we voters are that stupid remarks", she says " I dont believe the structure and content of the various polls is ever newsworthy" oh ok ... that's the ticket mrs. gtnkf

(I am making the assumption that one of the campaigns authored this pathetic campaign stunt.)
I find it interesting that candidate Gutenkauf would make the decision of what isn't newsworthy in her mind. Really, do you also want to censor our knowledge of who authored this phony poll? Does this imply a cover-up Ms. Gutenkauf? If you were involved with the phony campaign poll, then admit it. You stated, "YES", then admit this was the one you are involved with or not. Which is it? The voters of Elmhurst deserve to know! Please make a clear and decisive statement revealing whether you have involvement in this particular robo-caller debacle or not. If you stonewall on what poll you are involved with then we can expect your announcement soon that you’re dropping out of the race. The same should go for anyone running for the Mayor’s office. Whoever spent money on this thing has shown the public that they either have very bad judgment or have bad advising in their camp. At any rate, not admitting involvement is a breach of public trust. If this person would become mayor, what would that look like? Deception is on my mind?

I noticed the same number calling my home several times over the weekend. I finally answered today. Mrs. Gutenkauf will not like my responses when she reviews results of this poll...

Aren't we asking a lot from our local candidates who essentially must often self finance their own campaigns? Should they seek out professional advice from those who are supposed to be experts on effective methods of campaigning and end up with possible bad information, does it mean that they lack integrity? I see it perhaps in a different light. I do think all three candidates are decent people with different views and different approaches but I will not believe Elmhurst will be forever ruined if the candidate I chose to vote for is not elected. There is so much monitoring and opinions given that any candidate has limits to their power. I would never want to be Mayor and have to deal with so much pettiness. I would deeply evaluate ideas, seek feedback, and then move towards implementation. I would take an entrepreneurial approach that no doubt would offend many. You know what? I would not care. I would always look out for the best interest of Elmhurst from a long term perspective and do what I believe serves the best interest of the community. I would submerge my ego but sometimes I think a very benevolent dictatorship might have advantages. Endless committees and discussions have a place, but to a point. Ready, fire, aim might be beneficial. Make no small plans resonates with me.
I often like the quote about the man who is in the arena. I hope that the candidates simply put forth their vision and ideas for our community. Naturally we should be cautious. .......

Hi Jim, Are you running for any office? If you’re not, then why bother us with your chatter? Anyone with the ego to run for Mayor shouldn't be in the race to make excuses or discount what is or isn't newsworthy. Maybe you see The Patch and that responding negatively as displaying pettiness but it’s only petty if the candidate or candidates take it to that level. Elmhurst doesn't need that type of person as Mayor. If someone is involved with the pseudo poll they should acknowledge their involvement not try to vilify the public that is asking for answers of involvement. Did Ms. Gutenkauf commission the robo-caller? What is petty about asking until she responds? She is the only one that avoided a clear answer. It might not have been petty if she hadn't verbally challenged the worthiness of it being news or the public's dismay with it. That's what’s petty. And why would Elmhurst need a Mayor like that?

Bill, I don't have an opinion of her, just looking for the truth. It sounds like you 'just lately' took a poll. You may have not received the same survey or possibly the phone poll has been cleaned up since having such a bad initial response from the citizens of Elmhurst. That would be the best way to front-off the criticism. Do you know Diane?

Elm,

Thinking out loud, just like you are.

According to the folks who often inhabit these pages, no candidate or office holder, either past or present, seems to never measure up. I am content with excellence. Perfection does not exist.

I'm annoyed with the robo calls for Elmhurst mayor!!!!!!! I am not sure who is doing this or funding this but we receive 2-3 calls a day (for the past week that I CHOOSE to ignore) stating they have a survey that will take less than 10 minutes to complete. First of all, they do not ask you if you would like to take survey or not....they just babble on. Secondly, if you choose to let the call go to your answering machine, you have to listen to this annoying robo caller babbling about how i didn't make a valid choice, etc. Third, they keep calling if you do not complete the survey...a few times a day!! I just answered the call tonight because I want them to stop calling. I barely listened to the babbling robo caller and pressed whatever buttons to get through the survey. The company promoting these calls is rude and intrusive!! I am proud to be a registered voter in Elmhurst and look forward to election day but these calls have gone to far!. I'm just beyond annoyed!! Thanks for listening. PS The caller ID number is 630.478.8585and says something like "you have reached the campaign hotline, please leave a message." I did leave a message tonight and told them that their robo calls were annoying and i just pressed a bunch of buttons to get through the call. Please do not call me and take me off your calling list in the future." FWIW

@ trudeau. bill, i know you are an intelligent guy, and i also respect the quality of loyalty in a person, that people tend to support people that supported them. however, you really need to re-read this article if you think Gutenkauf did not either order this, or know that it was ordered to 'focus group' her candidacy by a professional pollster. seriously bill, both of the other candidates (Steve Morley & Mark Mulliner) absolutely unconditionally deny ANY involvement with this offensive tactic. Yet Gutenkauf says "Yes, my campaign has issued one poll". So c'mon bill, you're an intelligent guy; wake up smell the coffee ! She ordered it to focus group her campaign; is that really what we want for a local non-partisan election ?

Ms. Robocall - thanks for bothering my family on a Sunday evening. Whatever happened to family time?

honestly, are you elmhurst rubes so stupid ? i just spent over $$ 750,000 to get debbie conroy elected to my statehouse. if you don't believe me, check it out on line. why wouldn't i throw a little money around to see if Mrs. G has a snowball's chance in %^ of winning. and do you know what's next ? that little school board of yours; yes, from this point forward, I'm going to add a little pension expense to it each year. don't worry: for starters, it's going to be a small pittance added to your budget. but each year thereafter, bigger and bigger and bigger. and do you know what, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. because i've got the power to reconfigure my house and senate districts ( i just hate that word "gerrymander", such negative connotations) so honorable people like reboletti, pankau, and the rest of them just toil in powerless obscurity. oh well ... gotta run

Strike 2. She lost me at "shut-up".

Maybe the call was to suppress voter turn out. The call was negative about everyone and started with that odd question do you like Pete. Is he running as a write in? After that annoying call who wants to vote for any of them? Whoever commissioned that poll needs to drop out of the race.

bill: if you want to know who is responsible for the Robo Call, just "GOOGLE"

"friends of Diane Gutenkauf" and "Deep Blue"

and if you do it quickly, before gutenkauf operative "doremus jessup" gets on line and deletes it, as they say:

"ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"

Deep Blue Strategies 312-375-5072 Lte the reverse robo calls begin.

r johnson: you really are not fighting fair ! if the god fearing Republicans in Elmhurst find out that the managing partner of Deep Blue Strategies, LLC is on the payroll of my "Senate Democratic Victory Fund", then they might not take too kindly to that innocent little survey. (don't worry mrs g, as long as you continue to give evasive non-denials, they can't prove our connection). Look, I only paid Deep Blue 9,100.00 directly (the rest was salary) in the fourth quarter of last year; and only reimbursed their managing partner around 200 for mileage expense, but he promised me he would not meddle in elmhurst politics. And Rudi, don't forget to change your LinkedIn profile: "you need to delete the reference to "friends of diane gutenkauf" as being a current client of yours. It's not the way we do things here in cook county.

@ Doremus Jessup Do not play dumb. Your fellow Mike Madigan political operative at Deep Blue Strategies LLC has funded Conroy. And now has paid for the robocall for your chosen candidate, his friend.

Mr. Madigan will put any amount of money into this race. Deep Blue is the vehicle your chosen mayor candidate is using to do Mr. Madigan's work.

With the lies put out in the robocall your chosen candidate has gone 100% against her "Transparency in Government" stance mentioned in her literature and on the website she has spoken about in Elmhurst. If your chosen candidate really stands for transparency the candidate would proudly announce to Patch and tell the results of the survey to be totally open and forthcoming with the citizens she has used (and per Janie abused) to get information.

Meanwhile anyone interested in our public schools that will suffer under Mr. Madigan's add of a little pension expense each year for our school kids budget, just know that putting a Madigan ally in the mayor's office is exactly how that is supposed to work.

Doreumus, the last thing you want is the truth. Let's see if your mayor candidate of choice really is the transparency candidate that will announce the robopoll results to all us
Elmhurst citizens - that would be the truth.

Thanks for the heads up on who is promoting Diane Gutenkauf. I looked up both Friends of Gutenkauf and Deep Blue. Well Diane, it looks as though you are a deep 'blue' democrat and in the food chain which equates to a Michael Madigan plant. I don't want Mr. "Pension" Madigan having any more influence in Elmhurst! So from now on you are nothing to me! Please drop out of the race and relinquish your position as an alderwoman.

I am confused. Many claimed that Pete was a Madigan plant. Diane and Pete were often at odds. Now she has morphed into a Madigan shill. Merlins and magicians apparently have taken over the campaign according to some. As much as I like philosophy, sociology, and world events the current political climate makes me sick. I strongly prefer a candidate who has the heart and soul of a philosopher than the mind of a politician.
r

If you would like some real information about all of the current mayoral candidates as well as aldermanic candidates and candidates for School Board and Park Board, please plan to attend the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum, on Sunday, February 24, 1 - 5 pm at Elmhurst City Hall. In addition, on our website we will post responses from participating candidates to questions submitted to them by the League. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization dedicated to educating voters about the issues and candidates running for office. For more information about the candidates and the Candidate Forum, please visit our website at www.lwvelmhurst.org.

I've never seen such a long thread on Patch before!

Unfortunately I can't bring myself to care about this call for anything more than the 2 seconds it took for me to hang up on it.

If Madigan was in this race then I think we'd be seeing more sophisticated plans than this 10 minute call. That Gutenkauf/Madigan thing is baloney.

Madigans hand reaches far, and it is sticky. Voters beware. Pay attention to the real issues. btw nice add placement steve.

Actually, you can blame me if you wish. I am the "wizard of oz" who secretly controls everything behind the scenes. Even Mike Madigan,. Silly me.

Diane can you please set the record straight by addressing the questions of involvement with Mr. Madigan and the phone poll? You are for transparency aren't you?

JIM...LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE GONE INTO THE ELMHURST POLICE DEPARTMENT AS A SUSPECT AND THE DETECTIVE WROTE SOMETHING FALSE IN THE REPORT THAT HE CLAIMED THE SUSPECT STATE AND THE SUSPECT GOT ARRESTED... ONLY PROBLEM THE SUSPECT NEVER MADE THOSE STATEMENTS. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.... PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS BECAUSE 2 PEOPLE HAVE CLAIMED THIS HAS HAPPENED TO THEM.. AND I AM HOPING MORE PEOPLE COME FORWARD...SO SOMETHING CAN BE LEGALY DONE ABOUT THIS...

Elm Forest - great question! I hope, though, that you aren;t holding your breath for a response. "Transparency" is one of those terms that looks great on a campaign piece and sounds good in front of a group to try to win votes, but living by that word is entirely a different matter. "Madigan", "Deep Blue" and "Robo Calls" are words you will NEVER hear or see from the Gutenkauf campaign. Do as I say, not as I do...

seriously folks, lets get real here for a second. if ms gtnkf wants to get in bed (figuratively speaking) with a democratic "political operative" (his bio words, not mine), that is her business. but if she thinks that fact is NOT news, she is living in a fantasy world. and now, she is making the classic political miscalculation (doubling down on a bad hand): instead of admitting her error and moving on, she is trying to spin her deceptive move as being "not newsworthy". and doremus, you just crack me up. you are trying every literary/semantic trick in the book (deflection, humor, misdirection, exaggeration; shall i keep going?) to back a losing hand. c'mon now doremus "you gotta know when to hold em and when to fold em" ...

Peggy,

You said in a few lines what needed to be said and has not been by anyone that has commented until you.

No matter where or from whom (Deep Blue, Rudi who is working for Friends of Diane Gutenkauf, Senate Democratic Victory Fund or Madigan's operative Doremus or other Madigan supporters) the candidate is getting her money support and advice, this venture by her into this robocall has CRIPPLED any hope the candidate ever had of being a positive force for change in Elmhurst.

That is newsworthy. And the denial ".... I don't believe the structure and content of the ....polls is ever newsworthy" shows how out of touch the candidate is with what a majority of Elmhurst residents think.

I expect The Patch will follow up on it to continue to investigate to shed light on the newsworthy aspects so many have clearly talked about as relates to her mayoral run.

Other opportunities exist. Questions from the audience at events like the League of Women Voters event Susan Rose mentioned would be a good way to follow up. Or, written questions by The Patch to the various mayor candidates that seeks the results of the Feb. 7 - 9 robopoll could reveal key information that readers and voters desire to know.

This is the hand the candidate has now dealt herself to play in this campaign. It's a campaign issue of major proportion. If only she realizes it now she can decide to "fold 'em" as you put it? She diverts from real discussion on a York underpass, stormwater etc.

roburt kolb I live in 5t ward what do you think of the poll i took it + it was long

I find the Doremus Jessup comments incredibly offensive. No, Madigan didn't take a "PB&J away" but many of us believe he helped take away our political representation in Elmhurst with the gerrymandered redistricting that occurred. To be forced into a Chicago dominated congressional district while living in Dupage County, miles from the closest Chicago boudary, is akin to having our voting rights taken away. As a Democrat, you might not agree but please don't belittle those who DO feel this way with that type of comment. That being said, your second comment trying to play down Madigan's role is laughable. Readers, PLEASE REMEMBER the debate that happened on this very "Patch site" back when Dem Conroy was running for School board and how "outraged" her supporters were because it was a "local and independent" election - and why were people "picking on her" pointing out that she was a Democrat. Well the reason is the same here...Significant $$ are being spent trying to handpick candidates that Madigan will own...its not even about being a Democrat... its about being bought and paid for by a group in Chicago that does not care about Elmhurst but how Elmhurst can be minimized as a voice against their agenda. Even if you ARE a Democrat, vote for the best person who cares about Elmhurst, not a candidate whose biggest claim to fame is screaming at the Mayor in front of high school students and who a majority of Aldermen find to be counter-productive.

John, your response is great and makes sense of what many feel about the Chicago/Madigan issues that are going to be facing Elmhurst and DuPage residents for a long time.
Conroy claims to be an artist, yeah right? Maybe she should paint a mask of "Pension Mike" Madigan's face and wear it.

Do you feel that you have absolute proof that Diane is a Madigan ally?

Although Pete could be often impatient and sometimes condescending ( I imagine I could be this way if I had to sit through some of these meetings) it was my impression that she was an independent voice. I thought me have allowed herself to get baited into what appeared to be below her character but again, being frustrated can do these things when people are passionate personalities.

I am never certain who might be undermining others in an attempt at positioning and framing perceptions.

I have asked others to respond to the question of who do you favor and why.

Make it fact based although personal opinion matters.

I love many things about our community. I only hope to see it continue to evolve.

I respect and admire educated and motivated people who make this a better place to live.

hey jim: not to beat a dead horse here, but lets look at the evidence; or shall we say "follow the money". madigan's machine just spent in excess of 750 large to install d conroy in springfield. the first time they tried this, she smeared mr reboletti in unfathomable ways (very unladylike of ms conroy to put it mildly), then two years later, they poured more money in, got a better district (more villa park people), and the cash and votes poured in (conroy defeats kordik). now fast forward to mayoral robo survey. someone did it, either one of the three candidates or Oz. both Ald. Morley and Ald. Mulliner have denied it, and their denials are clear and unconditional. Ms. Gutenkauf has not denied it, her statement is ABOVE, READ IT ! she has not admitted a connection to Deep Blue Strategies and democratic political operative Rudi Pattitucci because that would be political suicide, and she knows it. So unless the Wizard of Oz commissioned this deceptive survey ... please connect the dots Jim !!!!

Find out who Mannion (Daley/Madigan crony) is working for this time. Word out it's Morley.

I love how the Gutenkauf trolls are trying SO hard to deflect this poop storm away from Gutenkauf and onto Morley. It's comical. The word is out. Gutenkauf in bed with the Dems and Madigan, and like her handlers in Springfield, she keeps making mistake after mistake after mistake. First, her record AGAINST everything, second, telling a collegue to "SHUT UP" on the dais in front of the high school aged Mayor for a Day winner and lastly, her incredibly stupid political robo call/push poll. This isn't on Morley or Mulliner. It's about Gutenkauf. You can paint over a rust covered car to make it look nice in the short term, but eventually, the rust is going to show through...

Anybody google Steve Morley and Elmhurst and get that Mark Mulliner ad on Google?

Doremus Jessup, Why don't you give up? We know who you are trying to promote, the one with the robo-call campaign poll. Who is Ms.Gutenkauf, if we read the relationship correctly? Distraction will not work.

Elm,

I do not pretend to know what anybody is thinking. There are days when I wonder if I know what I should be thinking. As far as honesty as the only criteria, I would not want an honest yet completely incompetent person to lead the city. It would be a disaster. In a time of narcissism and sociopathic "leadership" I would look for an intelligent person who possesses true character, the heart of a statesman, a knowledgeable business mind, a very innovative and dynamic personality who would represent the best interests of Elmhurst and its citizens. I would not want that person to be a figurehead. Never. This seems to be a lot to ask of someone who is paid a pittance and who is constrained by the type of Government that Elmhurst is organized under. I wonder why we don't recruit the very best and the brightest from local corporations and businesses, from our University, schools and Hospital system. I would encourage our youth to participate yet at the same time we need someone extremely capable who can stand above all of the different opinions and ideas and move us towards a constructive consensus. Hahn has suffered from an analysis of paralysis that is an example of a positive turning into nothingness.

I like most people. I struggle with those who are exceedingly narrow minded, selfish, angry, hostile, overly controlling and ...........I better shut up. The negative detractors might be foaming at the mouth.

@ Doremus Jessup To answer your question who are you going to vote for any why, please tell us why you are going to waste your vote on Ms. Gutenkauf, a candidate that cannot win?

For me, I like the concept of Mr. Mulliner telling people where he stands and saying why. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But I respect a candidate like Mulliner that goes out on a limb to state what he thinks and tells why. That is not Mr. Morley's style, to say in public what he believes or even what he is thinking.

So, please, explain why you are going to waste your vote?

I'll be voting for Mr. Mulliner because of his strong stance supporting Kool Cars way back when which is very environment friendly. He was supporting those kinds of things before either Mr. Morley or Ms. Gutenkauf were around.

And, he can bring the city together which in my opinion Ms. Gutenkauf cannot hope to do because she can't get enough votes.

Elm,,
I have to wonder where I am denigrating anybody?
Just general ideas about any candidate and what should be looked for in a candidate.
I am not thin-skinned. Denigrate me all you want. I probably deserve some of it.
Perhaps I am one who looks at the "Forest" and you look at the "trees"

Both views are important and necessary.

I am a very big fan of Mark.

I have never had a problem believing in much of what Diane represents.

I don't know enough about the other candidate yet.

for the longest time, I believed that mrs gutenakuf was basically a principled woman. i didn't always agree with her; thought some of her "issues" were a little on the nitpicky side. but at the end of the day, i assumed that if full trasparency was her motto, that she would always live by it. but now, i'm starting to question that. most of us dont know what the survey said. but it seems like unless she addresses it head on, not only will it not go away, but im thinking it really shouldn't. even if someone on her campaign ordered it, it's obvious from this article that she planned to use it. So i think she owes it to us to share the wording of it. Then we the people could be the judge of whether it was "innocent polling" or "deceptive data manipulation" That seems like the "transparent" thing to do ... or am i missing something?

you know the more i read about this issue, the more i think even the local politicians are full of ^#%. i guess for some people transparency is only a one way street. and speaking of transparency, did any one notice how county board member diciani is now campaigning at funerals; yes, he actually sent a huge wreath his name on it to the jack tosh funeral ... that is just so wrong on so many levels !

Once again I have written a long response, signed in properly, and watched it disappear. It might be me but I doubt it. Patch is the ONLY place this happens to me at.

I didn't even have to again log on for the above statement to appear which proves that I did everything properly.

Let's set the record straight. I made all the robo calls myself. Am I glad it is over with.

JIm

Let's get rid of the incumbents in this election. Start fresh on our local elected officials for the schools and over at city hall too. Any incumbent OUT. Let the new fresh ideas in.

It seems a little late to take the position of getting the incumbents out.
We have solid candidates yet I wonder who really has the Madigan connection.
I do not believe it is Mark Mulliner, which is good.
Does anybody have proof of any connections?

This would require a write in candidacy would it not.
Since no one is stepping forward who would be voted for ?
There are things that Elmhurst has done right, There are many things they have done wrong.
We really need somebody who will challenge the status quo, analyze everything we do, improve all processes, seek out what is best for Elmhurst, and really promote our city as one headed toward a world class status.