OLYMPIA FIELDS TRUSTEE ANNOUNCES VILLAGE PRESIDENT RUN

Cassandra Matz, resident of Olympia Fields for 27 years, has announced her run for president of the Village of Olympia Fields. Matz has also been on the board of trustees for four years. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Matz
Cassandra Matz, resident of Olympia Fields for 27 years, has announced her run for president of the Village of Olympia Fields. Matz has also been on the board of trustees for four years. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Matz

Olympia Fields Trustee announces Village President run

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     Cassandra Matz, currently a trustee of the Village of Olympia Fields, has announced her candidacy to run for village president.
    “I’m thinking that I’ve done all I can, sitting in this position, that I want to do more and the residents deserve more, and that made me think about running for mayor,” she said.
     Matz said she feels the residents of Olympia Fields deserve options and she wants to provide them with another option for village president.
     Matz has been a resident of Olympia Fields for 27 years and has served on the board of trustees for four years. She said when she moved there, it was a place of comfort, solitude and safety, to bring her family to.
     “We were looking for a place to raise our children, to make sure they were safe, secure, a beautiful area and just tranquility,” said Matz adding that’s what they found in Olympia Fields.
     Matz said she has always been active in the community. As a stay-at-home mom for 21 years, she was able to instill her values in her children, but to also service the community. She was on the Homeowners Association and served as the welcome wagon to new residents.
    “Four years ago, why I decided to become a trustee, was because I knew living in Olympia Fields it was my starter home, it was my family home that I raised my children, and now it’s my retirement home,” she said. “I know that I’m not going anywhere. After being there for 27 years, I’m going to be carried out by six. Why not make sure where I’m living out my life be comfortable, be steady and continue to be in the black and continue to have a surplus and continue to grow in the direction that I’m comfortable and my residents are comfortable.”
    Matz described Olympia Fields as a senior community and said seniors love familiarity. She said residents in Olympia Fields have that comfort and familiarity in the village, from the bank to the grocery store to the gas station and she wants to make sure the village stays that way.
    Matz said Olympia Fields has always had a high standard of living. With the Olympia Fields Country Club and housing stock, it is a village that is fiscally sound and the pandemic has not changed that. She said the village can ride out the pandemic.
   “That’s what is at the forefront of my brain, that we continue to ride out whatever hiccups come our way. That our residents don’t feel the pain of anything,” she said.
     Matz said while the taxes are considered high, what residents get for the taxes they pay, it balances out. She said they have a great police force, they drive through the community, are friendly to the residents, and know the residents. She said they have a camaraderie with the residents. “You pay for safety, you pay for beauty, you pay for comfort and you pay for neighbors of like, kind and quality who move into the community and want the same thing,” she said.
     Matz is currently in the petition phase. She needs 65 signatures to get on the ballot. She has collected the 65 signatures and will submit them in December. “No one has turned me down for their signature, I think that speaks volumes,” she said.

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