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?

Since 2005 I have wanted to participate in the development of our community. I Have volunteered for the park district on several occasions along with Lindop School in an effort to become familiar with my neighbors and needs of our community. It was because of this, I was inspired to run for park commissioner as a way to be more involved with the development of programs directed towards our youths and adults.

My skills and experiences start as a father of four boys and one lovely daughter. Also, a host of nieces and nephews that I have allows enjoyed mentoring and helping with unexpected changes that life presents us with. My pursuit for education has afforded me with a degree in arts from Triton and also another degree in Audio Engineering from SAE Institute located in downtown Chicago, along with many certifications from computer science to IL EPA Water Operator. With these experiences and accomplishments (just to name a few), I have been blessed to receive and combined with life’s ongoing learning curve and experiences, I truly I believe I can contribute a great deal to our Broadview Park district and our community as a whole.

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

I have always loved taking classes to further my knowledge, whether it was for a hobby or in pursuit of a particular employment. So I have always had to balance work hours, family, and my educational interest. This was always difficult to balance due to how much time there is in a day to work, study, drive to and from class, helping my children with school and other family time we allocated to one another, sleep, etc. It seems pretty busy and clutter but I learned how to use time management and the biggest key to using this skill is communicating with everyone. Also it was important for me to understand that time with my family is a priority, no matter how many hats I am wearing. The biggest lesson I learned and would love to pass on to as many people as possible is that all positive and honest efforts are worth pursuing as long as you are humble and a genuine passion in truth your dreams are always in reach.

3. What does transparency in government mean to you?  How would you put it into practice? 

Transparency in government in my opinion means allowing our fellow constituents (Residents, local businesses, entrepreneurs, etc.) the ability to obtain the information they seek without unnecessary “red tape” or favoritism. 

To me it means as an elected official, you understand that some citizens don’t know what they don’t know. 

So, it is an elected official’s obligations to make sure all information is within reach and available regardless if it was not asked for. 

I would put something like this in practice by creating a platform that is specific to the question “Did you know?” 

It would not matter if it were old or new information still in development. 

I believe the people have a right to know. 

No matter how minor or difficult the information may seem, our young and old should be made aware.

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?

I believe communicating online is very helpful and a way to reach individuals who are not able to be present at community meeting or just wanting to express concerns or new ideas that move the community forward. 

I believe it is great way for individuals to receive a more personal and timely response from their elected officials. 

Some may say it’s a little disconnected from the way in-person responding may feel, but there are way to still have this connection online as well, such as video responses. 

I would encourage my community to feel free to come join community meeting in person when they become available again. 

I would still maintain a presence using social media tools for those unable to come out or make to scheduled meeting and to also feel free messaging me via letter, video, online messaging, or by phone. 

Being sure I am available to respond to all concerns or sharing of information is priority.

5. What barriers do you see for community members who wish to engage with the Park District? How would you work to reduce or eliminate those barriers?  

I have seen and witnessed the current director and his staff, do a great job communicating with the community. 

The current board president for the Broadview Park, along with some commissioners have shown extremely good judgment in moving the park district forward and with positive results. Unfortunately the success of developing the park districts resources and public areas have been met with some resistance by our current village administration along with one or two commissioners that do not have true desires in moving the park forward. 

I find this troubling in some areas, as it pertains to the advances our community deserves. Spiteful politics and cronyism has weeded its way into our community’s development and I will put an end to this ugly division caused by opportunist with no real interest in the people of our village and its progress. 

First, I plan to help our board of commissioners become more unified but with a healthy objective position. 

I will continue by assisting our board in becoming closer to the other tax bodies in Broadview and lastly, but actually during, I would actively participate in making sure the community can see and take part of this union in our village on a more public forum. 

This order is to assure that complete transparency is present throughout the village and all the current barriers that exist are demolished.

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

1. Resistance in park development from our current village hall administration

2. Cronyism and opportunist behavior from individuals, who interfere and attempt to disrupt our park districts positive progress and ideas of moving the park forward, in its finances and advancements.

3. Lack of support and negative dialog from internal staff that share and believe in the idea of division throughout our community

With the help and support of our New board of commissioners and New village of Broadview administration, along with transparency and community involvement. I plan to support the uprooting of these negative influences and their proven desires to divide and corrupt the forward moving ideas and ventures for our park district and village as a whole.     

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

I define equity as the positive results from your labors and the smart investments you put into the community.

I have definitely been informed about things happening in the community, that I was completely unaware and honestly troubled by. 

But this only drove me to feel more needed than ever in my community. 

Especially as a commissioner for our Broadview park district.

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 honestly still believe in the ole fashioned face-to-face conversations with people. 

I understand Covid-19 has moved us further away from this idea but I still believe in its effectiveness and personal feel. 

Until then I plan to stay open and available on all the possible resources made available to communicate with. 

I am always welcoming an objective voice and willing to listen all positive alternatives ideas that benefit our community as a whole. 

This is the whole idea behind transparency and forward thinking for our village. 

This is what I am always presenting and one of my primary beliefs as a public servant. 

Right now I have only seen subjective ways of thinking from a small group loyalist cronies that don’t want to let go of their nepotism within our village structure. 

So with unrealistic responses to real questions they intentionally slow down progress and attempt to silence individuals like myself who believe the community should know what their officials are doing and not doing.

9. Name an influential local 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?

There are several individuals in our community that I consider influential and that have had a positive impact on our community. 

I actually believe our community has many influential people that are unsung and should be noticed for their achievements and positive impressions upon our community. 

As a public servant I would feel honored and humbled to someday be considered among these influential individuals as dedicated and having a positive impact on my community.

10. Park districts make use of many different sources of funding, including property tax revenues, fees, and grants. Do you feel the Park District maintains the right balance of free and fee-based facilities and programming for financial sustainability and equity? What do you see as the tradeoffs?

Our park district has done very well maintaining a surplus while gradually developing our facilities and its resources for the community to experience and enjoy. 

At the same time our Park district has shown tremendous support, free of charge, for the community starting with the elderly and special needs individuals within our community. 

I believe the partnership programs that assist our park district along with the direct involvement from our park administration and like-minded board members provide great balance for the financial health of park district.

Thanks to these efforts and dedicated members of the park, I see a prosperous park district with a supporting community that is happily involved and physically engaged with our park district and all it has to offer.

11. Pass-through funding from the State of Illinois has been much less plentiful in recent years due to fiscal issues at the State level. What plans do you have for continuing to fund programing and facilities improvement?

As of now my plans and ideas are mainly concentrated on much needed upgrades and modern facility programs. 

These ideas and future plans have more details of course and will be more successful when discussed with our community members and the positive team of board members open to listening and considering proactive ideas that are actually within our financial reach and possibilities.

Forward planning on maintaining funds for our facility improvements and newer program are within reach by community driven events; such as fundraisers and local business sponsorships.

Also, qualifying grants to help maintain any future improvements they will occur in our park district.

12. The Park District Board is responsible for oversight of the Executive Director. What criteria would you use to evaluate performance? Do you feel the Executive Director is doing a good job?

When elected to the Broadview park district board of commissioners, I am sure would continue to evaluate the Executive Director using the same criteria our current board uses, considering all the success they have experienced in the last 4 or more years with the current Executive Director.

13. Do you see opportunities for the Broadview Park District to collaborate productively with other local taxing bodies? What could hinder those efforts?

Yes, I see the potential for unlimited opportunities regarding all of our taxing bodies to be on one accord and supporting the efforts and growth of each other for the benefit of our community members and local businesses.     

Unfortunately the current division our community is experiencing is due to the negative efforts by some of our elected officials. 

This is the only possible reason I would see unproductive outcomes in collaborating with all local taxing bodies.

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