Sworn-in as an Oswego trustee earlier this month, newly-elected Luis Perez has resigned from his seat on the Village Board to accept an out-of-state job.
“If you have ever been in a position in your life when you have had two decisions to choose from it can be great and tough,” Perez said.
Perez announced he will be leaving Oswego early this summer to begin a position with K-VA-T Food Stores.
“For those of us up here, they are like the Meijer of the south. It is now an enterprise affiliated with Ace Hardware Corporation,” he said.
Perez has been in corporate market development for Ace Hardware. Perez said he will lead operations and new business development for K-VA-T Food Stores on behalf of Ace Hardware Corporation.
Perez was originally appointed to the Village Board in October 2015. He was elected to a four-year term in 2017 and served until 2021, when he was defeated in a bid for re-election.
After being away from the board for two years, Perez was once again elected as a trustee in April and sworn-in with the rest of new board members May 2.
He was one of three trustees elected in the April 4 municipal election.
“It is with great sadness that I must leave you,” Perez said.
He said working on the board is a great responsibility.
“The things we do because we care so much for our residents in this community,” he said.
Perez previously served on citizen-appointed committees for Oswego-based School District 308.
Perez and his wife Kathy raised their two daughters in Oswego, and they have called Oswego home for 24 years. Perez originally hails from Elgin.
“We can never repay what Oswego has given us. That’s what we will miss dearly,” Perez told The Beacon-News.
Perez said he decided to accept the job opportunity because it allows him “to stay inside the Ace Hardware family.”
“I’ll switch hats but it’s a unique opportunity from a work standpoint,” he said.
Perez said the timing of the new opportunity for him was not the best given his recent election to the Village Board.
“It was such a celebration to win and to be able to serve again locally for the community. This job opportunity happened like a lightning bolt. Sometimes the timing doesn’t always work,” Perez said.
Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman issued a call for those interested in filling the board vacancy to get in touch with the village.
The person appointed to fill the vacancy on the board will serve until the 2025 consolidated election.
Kauffman will start taking applications for the vacant trustee seat immediately, officials said. The application is available on the village’s website and must be submitted by 5 p.m. May 30. Kauffman will announce his appointment on June 8, and it will appear on the June 13 Village Board meeting agenda for board approval, officials said.
For more information on applying to fill the spot on the board, go to www.oswegoil.org/villageboard
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.