Brendan Houlihan
Brendan Francis Houlihan (born 1963 or 1964) is an American politician who served a single term as commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review from the 1st district from 2006 to 2010.
Brendan Houlihan | |
|---|---|
| Commissioner of Cook County Board of Review from the 1st district | |
| In office December 2006 – December 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Maureen Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Dan Patlak |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Palos Heights, Illinois |
| Education | Northern Illinois University (B.S.) |
Early life
Houlihan was born in either 1963 or 1964.[1]
Houlihan has a Bachelor of Science in finance from Northern Illinois University.[2] He also is an alumni of the Appraisal Institute of Chicago.[2]
Houlihan began his career after college, working at the Chicago Options Exchange as a price reporter. He then worked at the Chicago Board of Trade as a runner for the Chicago Corporation.[3]
Houlihan worked in finance.[3]
Cook County Board of Review
In 2006, Houlihan ran to be commissioner of Cook County Board of Review from the 1st district. He was a first-time candidate for public office.[4] Houlihan largely lacked the support of the state and county Democratic Party organizations.[5] He did have the public backing Wheeling Township Democratic committeeman Patrick Botterman, considered a political maverick.[5] He was also endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor for the Democratic primary.[6] After incumbent Republican Maureen Murphy successfully challenged his nomination petitions, he had been removed from the Democratic primary ballot. However, since, consequentially no candidate appeared on the ballot in the Democratic primary, state law enabled the Democratic committeemen from the Board of Review's 1st district to pick a nominee.[5] Southwest-side Democrats supported Bloom Township committeeman Terry Matthews.[5] However, Botterman was able to garner the support of enough committeemen to nominate Houlihan.[5] In the general election, he received the backing of 3rd district Cook County Board of Review commissioner Larry Rogers, Jr.[7] He also received behind-the-scenes support from Cook County assessor James Houlihan (of no relation).[8] Houlihan was an underdog in the election.[5] He won the election, unseating second-term incumbent Republican Maureen Murphy. His victory came in a strong election year for Democrats, and despite the fact that the district had been drawn to lean Republican.[7][9] His campaign was helped by a last-minute influx of cash from a Larry Rogers, Jr. and James Houlihan, just over a week before the election, which enabled him to send direct mail and buy radio and television advertisements in the final stretch of his campaign.[10] His win was considered a surprise.[11] His victory made the Board of Review entirely Democratic for the first time since its current form was established in 1998.
Days into his tenure, he and fellow board member Larry Rogers, Jr. joined together to fire the board's "deputy chief commissioner" Thomas Jaconetty, an ally of the board's remaining member Joseph Berrios.[12] Houlihan's predecessor Murphy had formed an alliance with Berrios, and had supported Jaconetty. She had also joined Berrios in resisting other reforms proposed by Rogers.[7]
Houlihan criticized the 2008 1% sales tax implemented by the Cook County Board of Commissioners.[2]
In August 2010, Chicago magazine made public that documents reveal that Rogers and Houlihan had expressed concern in May 2009 about how Berrios' staff had been processing tax appeals championed Paul Froehlich.[13]
In 2010, he lost reelection to Republican nominee Dan Patlak. When seeking reelection, he sought to distance himself from the other commissioners of the Board of Review, particularly Berrios, as the Board of Review was under investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's office.[14]
Later career
In 2014, Houlihan unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary to be a commissioner on the board of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.[15] There was speculation that, had he won, he would have used that victory as a stepping-stone for running again to retake his former seat on the Cook County Board of Review.[16]
Houlihan was a delegate from the Illinois's 1st congressional district to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Bernie Sanders.[17][18]
In 2019, Houlihan ran for election in an election to a six-year term on the Moraine Valley Community College board. He lost, placing sixth with 10,290 votes, with only the top-three finishers winning election.[19][20][21][22]
Personal life
Houlihan lives in Palos Heights, Illinois.[22]
Electoral history
Cook County Board of Review
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brendan F. Houlihan | 245,227 | 51.48 | |
| Republican | Maureen Murphy (incumbent) | 231,153 | 48.52 | |
| Total votes | 476,380 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brendan F. Houlihan (incumbent) | 109,750 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 109,750 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Patlak | 256,891 | 51.69 | |
| Democratic | Brendan F. Houlihan (incumbent) | 240,070 | 48.31 | |
| Total votes | 496,961 | 100 | ||
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cynthia M. Santos (incumbent) | 117,240 | 18.16 | |
| Democratic | Frank Avila (incumbent) | 116,164 | 17.99 | |
| Democratic | Timothy "Tim" Bradford | 112,152 | 17.37 | |
| Democratic | Josina Morita | 89,086 | 13.80 | |
| Democratic | Kathleen Mary O'Reilley | 67,071 | 10.39 | |
| Democratic | Frank Edward Gardner | 42,336 | 6.56 | |
| Democratic | Tom Courtney | 37,468 | 5.80 | |
| Democratic | Brendan Francis Houlihan | 33,821 | 5.24 | |
| Democratic | Adam Miguest | 16,185 | 2.51 | |
| Democratic | John S. Xydakis | 11,925 | 1.85 | |
| Write-in | Others | 2,266 | 0.35 | |
| Total votes | 645,714 | 100 | ||
Moraine Valley Community College District 524 Board of Trustees
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernadette Barrett | 14,078 | 16.39 | |
| Joseph P. Murphy (incumbent) | 13,392 | 15.59 | |
| Beth McElroy Kirkwood | 12,223 | 14.23 | |
| Sandra Wagner (incumbent) | 11,990 | 13.96 | |
| Jaclyn O'Day | 11,549 | 13.44 | |
| Brendan F. Houlihan | 10,290 | 11.98 | |
| Linda Ehlers | 7,588 | 8.83 | |
| Shadin Maali | 4,793 | 5.58 | |
References
- "Brendan Houlihan: Candidate Profile". Daily Herald. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- "Editorial board questionnaires and endorsements -- chicagotribune.com". primaries2010.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- "Financial Advisor for Investing BFH Wealth Management LLC". BFH Wealth Management. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Brown, Mark (25 October 2016). "Here's one race guaranteed to hit you right in the wallet". www.pressreader.com. Chicago Sun-Times.
- Joravsky, Ben (29 June 2007). "Welcome to the club, Commissioner Houlihan". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- "Chicago Federation of Labor endorses pro-labor candidates in 2010 Primary Election". Chicago Federation of Labor. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- Pallasch, Abdon M. (25 December 2006). "Corporate property tax breaks may slow down. Board of Review changes may help homeowners". Chicago Sun-Times.
- Stewart, Russ (3 June 2009). "2010 "BATTLE OF TITANS": HOULIHAN V. BERRIOS FOR ASSESOR". www.russstewart.com. Russ Stewart.
- Stewart, Russ. "Political Analyst - Article July 14, 2010". www.russstewart.com. Russ Stewart. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- Hinz, Greg (27 November 2006). "Tax Tale". Crain's Chicago Business.
- "Democrats' sweep is official". www.pressreader.com. Chicago Sun-Times. 11 November 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- Joravsky, Ben (18 December 2006). "The Demotion That Makes No Difference". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- "Cook County Board of Review Documents". www.chicagomag.com/. Chicago magazine. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- Cox, Ted (11 September 2010). "Cook Co. board member: Board of Review probe completed -- Daily Herald". prev.dailyherald.com. Daily Herald.
- Stewart, Russ (29 January 2014). "Slate favored in Dems' water district primary". Nadig Newspapers - Northwest Side Local Newspapers. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Stewart, Russ (10 April 2014). "Water district primary has 'collateral damage'". Nadig Newspapers - Northwest Side Local Newspapers. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- "General Primary of March 15, 2016" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Sweet, Lynn (5 January 2016). "Sweet exclusive: Who's on Sanders' Illinois delegate slate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Metsch, Steve (17 January 2019). "Election challenges fly in Moraine Valley board race". desplainesvalleynews.com. Des Plaines Valley News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Swanson, Lorraine (2 April 2019). "ELECTION RESULTS: New Trustees Elected to Moraine Valley Board". Palos, IL Patch. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- "Suburban Cook County Election Results". results.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- Slowik, Ted (17 March 2019). "Slowik: Politics muddies race for seats on Moraine Valley Community College board". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- "Cook County and the City of Chicago Combined Summary Report November 2006 General Election Tuesday, November 7th, 2006" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- "Combined Summary Report - Primary Election Cook County Primary February 2, 2010" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- "Cook County General Election November 2, 2010 Combined Summary Report" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- "General Primary Election Cook County and The City of Chicago Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 Combined Summary" (PDF). Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 16 March 2020.