Meet our 2023 City Council Candidates

Lake Forest residents will have candidates for City Council in all 4 wards in the 2023 election.

Ward 1 - Terence (Terry) Mieling
Ward 2 - John Powers
Ward 4 - Richard Walther

Ward 3 - Ara Goshgarian

Terry and his wife Nancy have lived in Lake Forest for over 35 years and raised two sons who attended Lake Forest public schools.  Their sons have blessed them with four grandchildren.

Professionally before his retirement, Terry was Fiscal Director for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Chief Financial Officer for a hospital in the Hospital Sisters Health System, Senior Manager at Ernst & Ernst (Ernst & Young), Vice President at John Nuveen & Co. (Nuveen Investments), and Director with Merrill Lynch & Co.  During the last thirty years of his career he provided investment banking services to a variety of health care providers and other non profit organizations in their access to tax exempt debt in the municipal bond market.  He was also a member of the Audit Committee for the American Dental Association and a long time mentor for students in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Terry was a member of the Lake Forest Caucus for the First Ward, Cub Master for Pack 46, Assistant Scout Master for Troop 48 and Regional Commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization Region 163.  Currently, he is a member of the Audit Committee for the City of Lake Forest and a member of the Investment Committee for the Franciscan Alliance health care system.

He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana where he received his B.S. in Biochemistry and Masters of Business Administration.  Terry is also a Certified Public Accountant.

John Powers has lived in Lake Forest for the past 27 years. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Missouri - Columbia and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. John is currently the Director of National Accounts for Abbott Diabetes Care and has 35 years of business experience with both public and private companies in the area of distribution and logistics, commercial sales, marketing services and health care. John and his wife Robin have two adult children and are proud to call Lake Forest home. John has served on the Lake Forest Caucus, The Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board, various roles at the Church and School of St. Mary, District 115 Board of Education and most recently a Trustee of Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in Waukegan, IL.

Ara Goshgarian has lived in Lake Forest most of his life.  He attended Everett School, Deer Path Middle School and Lake Forest High School prior to graduating from Carroll College and the University of Illinois, graduating with a DDS.  He completed his orthodontic specialty program at Loyola University.

Ara returned to Lake Forest with his wife and four children to practice orthodontics with his father and has been in the community ever since.  His children are currently attending and have attended both Districts 67 and 115 schools.  Ara served on The Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board, most recently as its Vice President.  He is a past President of both The Illinois Society of Orthodontists and The Midwestern Society of Orthodontists.  He is currently serving on the Council of Government Affairs and have served on the AAO’s House of Delegates, which has financial, policy and bylaw oversight over his professional organization.

Ara is active in the community, having served on the Lake Forest Caucus, and firmly believes the mechanism of the Caucus system best serves Lake Forest.

Richard Walther is a 17-year resident of Lake Forest who has served in various volunteer community roles, including member of the Lake Forest Building Review Board (BRB) since 2018, member of the 2018-2022 Strategic Planning Committee, Deer Path Road Streetscape Committee, and Route 60 Corridor – Vision for the Future Committee.  His work with the BRB has included participation in several subcommittees to assist petitioners resolve outstanding issues with city staff and bring new and renewal building projects to fruition.

Rich and his wife, Leanna, have been married 29 years and have two sons, Timothy (26) and Andrew (23), both of whom attended Lake Forest public schools.  Rich and Leanna have been very active in supporting their sons' interests while growing up in Lake Forest.  Both sons earned their Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.  Rich, a fervent advocate of servant leadership, also thrived within the BSA programs serving as Cubmaster for Pack 148 (Everett School) and Scoutmaster for Troop 46 (First Presbyterian Church).  In these roles, Rich guided more than 90 youth to complete their Eagle Scout Award and values the positive contributions these young men made to our community.

Rich is a licensed structural engineer who specializes in the evaluation and repair of bridges, infrastructure, and buildings.  After earning BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, Rich joined the firm of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE) where he has recently completed his 34th year of employment.  Rich is very active in organizations aligned with his professional interests and has received local and national recognition for his committee leadership, research, and publications.