Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring, and why would those contributions be valuable in the office you are seeking?

I am motivated to seek an office whenever I see that an opportunity for improvement exists. It is important that I avoid being passionate about complaining, but openly demonstrate a commitment towards change for the betterment of the community where I live.

I am currently Board President for the Broadview Park District. I have had the privilege of serving as Park Commissioner for nearly 12 years. During this time, I developed a keen sense of understanding budgets, fiscal discipline, dealing with quality-of-life concerns for our residents, and using my charismatic style of leadership to work through issues of disagreement amongst colleagues to ensure that there was a resolution to the concerns of our residents. Those contributions would be valuable because there is a much broader spectrum of responsibility and cross-functional collaboration wherein the Village Trustee is expected to support - i.e., TIFs, business licensing, water rates, etc.

2. When in the past have you had to balance competing interests? What process did you use? What did you learn?  

As Park Commissioner, I came into the role with a laundry list of ideas that I believed would be an absolute asset towards supporting our residents. In developing those ideas, there were times when I had to remind myself that my colleagues had just as important (and in many cases, better) ideas that I needed to be just as sensitive in understanding. It was important to develop a priority list and then collaborate with my colleagues on the order of importance and then align our ideas on how to best move forward. I learned to continue to embrace other ideas - as the end game is about supporting the residents, not our personal agendas.

3. What does transparency in government mean to you? How would you put it into practice? Do you believe the Village of Broadview operates in a transparent manner?

Transparency in government means the ability to easily obtain information, even if that information could potentially have negative implications that impacts the community. The residents deserve to know how decisions that are being made by their elected officials are impacting them. I will work with my Colleagues, the Village Clerk and Legal Counsel to development policies and procedures to ensure that requests for information are responded to in a clear, concise and consistent manner - regardless of the information requested.

I do not believe that the Village of Broadview operates in a transparent manner.

4. As more of our local discourse happens in social media, what is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents? How will you engage with the breadth of the community, and not only those on social media?

Now, it is important that we continue to follow social distancing guidelines as it relates to COVID-19. However, working to be as responsive as possible to constituents is of utmost importance. I am very visible in the Village of Broadview. There have been times when constituents would see me at Target, Home Depot, etc., and have had questions or concerns as it relates to the Park District. It was important for me to take time to engage those residents and report those concerns to the Board.

I will continue to personally engage our constituents, and where electronic communication is necessary, respond as timely as possible.

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with Broadview’s village government? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?  

There have been statements made suggesting that the Village of Broadview lacks a hefty dose of customer service – that it is void of creating an atmosphere wherein residents can come to the Village of Broadview to address concerns that are important to them without experiencing harsh tones and a lack of understanding. The community members then become jaded in wanting to address their concerns. Poor customer service would be addressed immediately. I will expect nothing less than excellence in our engagement to our residents – that expectation will begin with the Board of Trustees, Mayor and the entire staff of the Village of Broadview. I understand that there will be times of disagreement – however, maintaining professional decorum is a must.

6. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing Broadview, and how do you intend to address them? 

The three biggest issues that I believe facing Broadview are: Fiscal Discipline, Economic Development and Public Safety.

Fiscal Discipline – I will recommend a committee to review all non-essential spending – e.g., multiple departmental credit cards. Within that discipline will also be the timely reconciliation of bills. An independent auditor report suggests that this is a current area of improvement for the Village. Any persons employed to report on Village financials will be required to have a regular cadence of operating hours to address any concerns in real-time.

Economic Development – The Village of Broadview and its industrial park has a proximity to expressways that can provide businesses with a key strategic opportunity to increase their bottom line – while increasing our tax revenue. There needs to be an active engagement, rather than passive, of potential businesses to consider the Village of Broadview for their location. I will recommend establishing a committee that will foster a welcoming tone to business owners. In addition, I believe that it is vitally important to also create coaching and mentoring mechanisms for our own residents who are passionate about starting their own business but are having difficulty in knowing the first steps.

Public Safety – Communicate with our First Responders to gain an understanding of any resources requirements that are needed for them to effectively maintain a safe and welcoming Village.

7. How do you define equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

I define equity as an acknowledgement that we do not all start from the same place in life and that there must be a recognition that barriers – intended or unintended – exist within our society and that establishing means to level the playing field are vital to a fair and equitable distribution of resources and justice. Recent events and discussions have given way that opportunities for improvement are endless.

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

I envision establishing a type of hotline whereby residents can call to voice their concerns in order to provide visibility to the experiences that they may be having that are different than mine. From those concerns, working with my colleagues to find a way to best address those concerns. Depending on the nature of the feedback, an availability of resources may pose a barrier to immediately address those concerns.

9. Name an influential Broadview community member. How did this person’s influence change Broadview? As an elected official, what do you imagine your influence will be on the community?

Current Village Trustee and former mayor, Sherman Jones in an influential Broadview community Leader. During his tenure as mayor, Trustee Jones was instrumental in overcoming a budget deficit and positioning the Village of Broadview to have a budget surplus. He was the catalyst for much of the activity that is now taking place in the Village of Broadview. Such as his vision to have senior housing in our town – it was his vision to support our elderly residents during winter seasons, etc. I look forward to working with Trustee Jones as Mayor Jones to foster even greater opportunities in the Village of Broadview.

As Village Trustee, I imagine my influence on the community will be having a reputation of reaching out to businesses and developers and touting the advantages that the Village of Broadview has to offer.

10. What impact can a municipality such as Broadview have on climate change, and how will you prioritize that work among other issues?

The impact can be that of supporting programs towards powering our homes with renewable energy, energy efficient appliances and weatherization of our homes. I will work to establish an order of priority for all the pressing concerns for our residents.

11. What do you see as the most pressing issue relating to housing in Broadview? What policies would you advocate to address this issue? Do you consider support for affordable housing to be a core function of our village government? Why or why not?

The most pressing issue relating to housing in Broadview would be that of foreclosures. I would advocate having a Housing Advocate within the Village that can assist homeowners in identifying programs that are available to provide financial assistance.

Currently, I believe that affordable housing is a less of a core function of our village government. Our Village is comprised of mostly homeowners. I believe that a core emphasis should be on supporting programs to assist our homeowners and those elderly residents who may be having difficulty keeping their homes.

12. In recent months there have been calls in many communities to defund the police or reimagine public safety. How do you define public safety? Do you begin from the premise that increased policing is the most effective response to increased crime, or would you propose other solutions?  

Protecting the community from crime, disaster and other potential dangers. I would propose other solutions.

13. What do you believe has caused the recent swell in carjackings in the surrounding area? Do you see an appropriate law enforcement response to this situation?

The recent swell in carjackings in the surrounding area is as a result of crimes of opportunity. The Village of Broadview has a history of being known as a safe community. Unfortunately, the surrounding area is potentially being noticed as a soft target by those opportunistic criminals. I would prefer to see an increase in patrols by law enforcement as a way of deterrent.

14. What is your development vision for Roosevelt Road? What form do you feel development should take there? How would you confront the parking situation?  

The development vision that I have for Roosevelt Road is for it to be a mixture of commercial and residential space. The form that the development should take is primarily that of commercial development. There needs to be greater visibility for both residents and visitors of the Village parking lots that are available during business hours of operations. These parking spaces are often underutilized and can serve as a way to improve the parking situation along Roosevelt.

15. Do you believe there is room for a human-scale development approach in Broadview? Why or why not? 

Yes. One of the tenets of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs state that a person’s most basic needs (shelter, food, water, belonging, etc.,) must be met before they can achieve a level of self-actualization (creativity, lack of prejudice, self-esteem, etc.,). Without having such a human-scale development approach in our Village, well…you really don’t have a Village at that point. Our residents must be empowered to reach those needs innate to our human existence.

16. How would you evaluate the success of Broadview’s plans for Covid-19 mitigation at the Village? Do you feel the Village has adequately protected its employees, and that there has been adequate transparency with respect to case tracking?  

The Village has communicated the message from government officials of public health experts. The Village has enacted the social distancing guidelines and requirements as mandated by our state and national government officials. The robocalls providing information regarding statistics in our village seem to have slowed.

17. How do you believe the Covid-19 pandemic has affected Broadview’s Village finances, and what policies do you favor going forward as part of the recovery? 

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has caused a significant strain on local businesses, which essentially impacted tax revenue across each of the governments in the Village of Broadview. It is my understanding that for several months, the message from the Village was that we were operating under a balanced budget. It was later communicated that the Village of Broadview received an infusion of COVID-Relief funds that was used to shore up the budget.

18. Do you believe the Village of Broadview is financially healthy? Do you feel the current Village budget is balanced? What is your approach to fiscal transparency? 

I do not believe that the Village of Broadview is financially healthy. If not for the COVID-Relief funds that were used to balance the budget, I am very concerned as to what would have happened had those funds not been made available. It is hard to know for sure (whether the current Village budget is balanced). The messages regarding that budget have not been consistent.

My approach to fiscal transparency is to communicate to the residents an accurate fiscal picture of the Village. Within that communication and if there is poor fiscal health reported, it is important to demonstrate how the Village is working to reduce any non-essential spending and expenses. Masking the true financial health of the Village is a failure in fiduciary duty to the residents.

19. As an elected official, do you believe you have a responsibility to speak out about private labor practices? If so, how do you balance that responsibility with the tax benefits larger corporate operations may bring to the Broadview community? 

As an elected official, I do believe that I have the responsibility to speak out about private labor practices. I look forward to having broad discussions with corporate operations regarding the mutual benefit between those corporations and our Village. However, I am a supporter of employees and that support will not be influenced by any tax benefits that those corporate organizations may bring.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/24/21.]