I am running for Alderman of the 48th Ward because I believe that Edgewater and the area of Uptown in our Ward comprise a great community and a wonderful place to live, and I know it can be a better place if we plan for our future in a way that is consistent with our shared community values. We have a common set of community values. Values of inclusiveness and compassion. Values of family and prosperity. We embrace diversity and the notion that our community is big enough for all kinds of people. We also believe in representative, participatory democracy and insist that our elected officials be held accountable for their actions or inactions.

Community visioning and planning will be key to our progress. If we do not plan for our future, thoughtfully and strategically, then we stand to lose the very character of community that drew us here in the first place-whether we first moved here in 1960 or 2006, whether we immigrated here or were born here and want to stay.

I believe that the Alderman, first and foremost, represents the people of the 48th Ward to city government and ensures that city services and programs operate within our community well. A strong and visionary alderman can effect change and while keeping the gains we have made. A strong leader will collaborate with other elected officials, but will remain independent-responsive to the people of the community first.

The legendary machine politics of the past continue to influence hiring, spending, and policy decisions in our city and must come to an end. As your representative to City Council, your alderman has a duty to fight for the concerns of the community over the demands of old-fashioned obligations.

My success and leadership in the not-for-profit world and in business, my skills as a trained mediator and communicator, my work on various boards and committees, my roles as father and husband all have prepared me well for this task of leadership. When I became Executive Director of Inspiration Corporation, it was a small and drifting agency with a $415 thousand dollar budget serving several dozen people a year. In the past six years, it has grown to be a city-wide organization with a $2.6 million budget employing 60 people and serving nearly two thousand annually. Our success is based on sound visioning, planning, and execution. Our growth is based on an entrepreneurial spirit that drives our innovation, like our mergers with The Living Room Café and The Employment Project and our award winning restaurant called Café Too. We are mission based and values based and are driven by the core belief that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

I also bring the mundane but critical skills of organization, budget and project management to this job. My skill as a manager and professional will translate well into running a public-service oriented office.

Issues

Although a community as complex and diverse as ours is not easily defined, I believe there are three major areas of significant concern that must be addressed in the context of local leadership as well as legislative leadership in the Council Chambers. These issues are education, quality of life and good governance.