The Civic Betterment Party Nominating Committee begins meeting in the spring the year before the general election for village and library offices and meets into the fall to develop a slate to present at the Town Meeting. In its initial meetings, the village president and clerk (when those offices are up for election) and library Board president brief the nominating committee on the positions for which they must find candidates and the issues faced by the village and library. It looks to the current and past village commission membership, Friends of the Library membership, and other similar pools of talent for potential candidates. The commission keeps records of people contacted in past years for those who may have current interest in running for office. It seeks referrals from current and past office holders. In short, the committee members do all they can to identify and contact potential candidates.

Citizens with an interest in an office are asked to complete an application with information about their personal experiences and  involvement and time in Glen Ellyn. In addition, the candidate is asked to list the most significant challenges he or she believes are facing Glen Ellyn relevant to the post he or she is seeking, and to offer a 50-word statement, for publication, on how he or she plans to address the challenges. Applications can be found under the “Applications” tab.

Potential village or library trustee candidates who submit an application are then scheduled to appear before the nominating committee to explore being slated as a nominee. The committee interviews all prospective candidates to understand the candidates’ motivations, experiences, and qualifications. Typically, prospective nominees with little knowledge about or involvement in local government are encouraged to defer seeking office and instead consider getting involved on a commission, committee, or in some other way to better prepare themselves for future consideration. While the CBP bylaws give no guidance to the committee as to what it means to be “qualified” for nomination, nominating committee members have applied this to mean that nominees, at a minimum, must be “qualified under election law to hold the office.” Most committee members have sought nominees with appropriate background and experience so the nominee can to be effective in the office. Members have been wary of “single-issue candidates” who appear not to understand or want to address the wider set of issues that a village or library office-holder must tackle for the betterment of the community.

After the interviews are completed, the nominating committee then undertakes a voting process that aims to slate at least two qualified candidates for each open position.

Candidates who are not slated by the committee, or who choose not to appear in front of the committee, may potentially become a Civic Betterment Party candidate by notifying the nominating committee chair at least 30 days before the Town Meeting of their intent to be nominated from the floor of the meeting.