The Lake Forest Caucus Committee named two new school board candidates on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Ryan Wiedmann will seek the Caucus endorsement for District 67 and Kent Novit for District 115 at a special meeting vote Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The picks replace two candidates voters rejected at the Annual Meeting earlier this month. Kristin Vallaly, the original District 67 nominee, lost 471–652. Jennifer Neubauer, the District 115 nominee, lost 430–696. A total of 1,126 ballots were cast, according to the Caucus's Annual Meeting results.
The Caucus Committee said in a statement that it would present only one candidate per open seat rather than pit the original nominees against the replacements. The committee said it was honoring the community's original vote.
Who is Ryan Wiedmann?
Wiedmann has lived in Lake Forest since 2021 and has two children at Deer Path Middle School. He volunteers as a youth soccer coach. The Caucus describes him as a global marketing executive in his candidate biography.
Who is Kent Novit?
Novit has lived in Lake Forest for more than 34 years and has been involved in local government since 2000. He served five years on the Zoning Board of Appeals, six years as a city alderman and previously sat on the District 67 School Board, according to his Caucus biography.
He is an attorney who has practiced real estate law at his firm for 42 years. He graduated from Northwestern University and earned his law degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He recently finished a three-year term on the Caucus Committee itself, where he co-chaired the group that rewrote the committee's bylaws.
His wife, Nancy Novit, serves as a Lake Forest alderman.
How to vote
The special meeting runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Gorton Community Center. Voters must bring a valid Illinois photo ID showing a Lake Forest address.
