Evanston City Clerk in Taiwan for Week 1 of Early Voting

Coming Soon to Evanston, Virtual Power Plants!

Earlier this week, I was tipped off by FOIA Gras’ foreign correspondent that Evanston City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza will be in Taiwan next week for a trade show. This is newsworthy because early voting for the April 1st municipal elections opens on Monday March 17th. In addition, the City is in the process of relocating to 909 Davis (something I’ve been critical of). The trade show runs from March 18th - 22nd.

Meleika Gardner also recently posted about this on Nextdoor.

I reached out to the organizer and they confirmed she will be in attendance and provided me with a press release explaining the conference.

Yes, City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza will visit the 2025 SCSE.

Smart City Summit & Expo (SCSE) is the world’s largest smart city tradeshow, showcasing the most comprehensive smart solutions. For the past twelve years, it has provided marketing opportunities for applications from both domestic and international markets. SCSE serves not only as a B2B platform for businesses but also as one of the largest G2G and G2B networking hubs in the world.

The event is organized by various Taiwanese associations with the Taipei City Government as a co-organizer.

This year’s conference focuses on Virtual Power Plants (VPP), which honestly doesn’t seem like a real thing. The organizers describe it as;

• Connecting and coordinating various distributed energy sources (like solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, etc.)

• Balancing supply and demand across the grid

• Helping maintain grid stability when relying more heavily on renewable energy sources

Foreign-government-organized-and-partially-paid conferences are not uncommon. In my day job (corrosion prevention), I’ve been invited to ones in the Middle East and Asia¹. Given that the City Council just passed the Healthy Buildings Ordinance (something I was critical of) this seems to align with the City’s environmental and sustainability objectives.²

At least 2-3 other City Staffers are also on this trip, but I don’t have formal confirmation yet. I will follow up on this in April, after the records (and expenses) are public information. I have a broader post I am working on about public employee travel - when it is newsworthy and when it is not. For instance, Dr. Horton using taxpayer funds for flights, Lyft Luxe rides, hotel, and steak dinner to receive an award in Los Angeles on one end of the spectrum, and staffers attending a software training workshop in Akron on the other. This seems somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, Ms. Mendoza provided me with a comment;

I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that I will be attending the Smart City Summit & Expo in Taiwan this week. However, I would like to reassure the community that early voting in Evanston will proceed as planned and without any difficulties. The Clerk’s Office serves primarily as a supportive host site for the Cook County Clerk’s Office during early voting and does not directly manage the electoral process.

Our responsibilities do not include counting votes, sending or receiving mail-in ballots, or processing election data. Rather, we focus on providing a welcoming and secure environment for the County’s election operations and assisting residents with any questions they may have via phone, email, or in person.

Early voting will be conducted at 2100 Ridge Ave, Room G300. Our team has been actively collaborating with the County since January, following the signing of the early voting site agreement. This collaboration has involved important logistical arrangements, including the successful relocation of the DMV and necessary accommodations for election judges and election equipment.

The County undertook thorough testing of the internet on March 11, and we received all necessary equipment on March 13. In line with standard procedures, access to this equipment is restricted to election judges only. The DMV was successfully relocated by noon on March 14, and election judges completed the setup process that same day. We are well-prepared for early voting to begin on Monday, March 17. I would
also like to clarify that our office will not be processing voter registrations during the early voting period, as voter registration will only be available at early voting sites and polling locations on Election Day, April 1. To better assist residents, we have recently
updated voter information resources on the 311 app, and our dedicated staff, along with 311 operators, are ready to assist with any inquiries. I plan to be present for the second week of early voting, which is typically the most active period.

During my absence, our highly capable and knowledgeable staff will continue to provide comprehensive support to residents. Furthermore, supervising election judges from the Cook County Clerk’s Office have my direct contact information and are aware of my travel schedule. They will be sure to reach out if any matters require my attention. I would like to highlight that the Cook County Clerk’s Office oversees
all aspects of the election process, including ballot counting, management of mail-in ballots, election judge coordination, and handling of election data. We work closely with their office to ensure a smooth and efficient process, but it is important to note that the City Clerk’s Office is not responsible for managing election administration beyond our role in hosting and facilitating voter inquiries.

While I am away, I will remain available via phone and email for any urgent matters requiring my attention.

Since taking office, the Clerk’s Office has been committed to fostering technological advancements in Evanston. Our engagement with the Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) last year led to a valuable invitation to attend the summit, and we are enthusiastic about exploring potential innovations that could benefit our city, particularly in areas such as smart building technologies and improvements in municipal operations.

I am confident in the thorough preparation we have undertaken to facilitate early voting, and I trust my team will effectively manage any inquiries during my absence.

This year, the number of international visitors has reached a new high, with participants from 59 countries and regions, 138 cities, and a total of 2,806 overseas visitors. Among these visitors, 569 mayors or their representatives will attend the exhibition..

She is correct that the Clerk’s technical role in managing elections is somewhat limited — you can read the City Code yourself. Accordingly, the Clerk’s formal roles in an election are;

• Within five days after election results are declared, the Clerk must notify all persons elected to any City office of their election and inform them of the requirements necessary to qualify for office (Section 1-7-2(F)).

• The City Clerk is responsible for keeping all records of the City, although election records are not explicitly stated (Section 1-7-2(G)).

Ms. Mendoza is running for re-election to City Clerk, opposed by a write-in candidate, Vanessa Johnson-McCoy.

1. They always refuse to fly me first class, though! Deal killer!!

2. Whether I think those plans are effective is a whole other issue. I would argue that we’re spending too much time on buzzwords, metrics, dashboards, and consultants than doing anything meaningful about reducing carbon emissions. A discussion for another day.