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 this office because there has been a decline in youth services over the past 6 years and as a man, I can remember the park district being an intricate part of my younger years and it also helped me to stay on track and not get caught up in mischievous things that could have plagued my future. I have been very involved with the park district and the school district to bring the two entities together in offering programs that would be beneficial in the youth’s extracurricular activities. I’ve done this for more than 10 years and after experiencing some difficulties in making things happen, I’ve decided to take a position that will help make policy and assist with maintaining a budget that will afford and support our vision for growth. 

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

I dealt with competing interests when things were to be completed by a governing entity and the ball was dropped. I backed up and addressed the youth and residents to try and understand what may have happened and helped to create a Plan B so that what had been set forth toward our youth, didn’t fall through the cracks. I learned to always take the high road and have a Plan B at all times. 

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

Transparency in government means that all things that pertain to tax dollars, services, programs etc. are to be made available to the public. If elected, I would recommend a quarterly news letter with all financials, services etc. expended for that quarter and this would be made available on the website and a link added to the social media page. 

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 that communication should always be in a professional manner either at a board meeting or via zoom. I would make myself available once or twice a month to speak with residents(or via Zoom) regarding their concerns.

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?  

The barrier that I see is that we are a divided community and it’s a reflection at the park district. People talk about what the district doesn’t have but won’t work together to make it happen. If elected Jashjuan and I will work with the members to create a plan to bring our community together by utilizing the parks-after all-we are ONE BROADVIEW. 

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

See #5 answer. 

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

The ability of being fair. 

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?

If elected, I would work with my colleagues to create a community survey that would allow us as board commissioners to see exactly what the community is looking for. Finances are definitely a barrier; however, with the current staff that’s in place, I believe that they would be excellent in finding out how to make this happen in the most economical way. 

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?

I have lived in Broadview for over 25 years and I prefer to NOT name one member-my list would be more like 30+ people who have poured into my life on many different levels. 

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?

Yes. The current administration has done the best that they can with the limited resources that have been available for the past 2-3 years. This is why we must have a relationship with the other governing bodies because at that point, we would be able to obtain more finances for all that service our residents. 

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?

Once elected, Jashjuan and I have researched creative ways to obtain funding outside of the typical state funding ie: solar energy grant for the park district that can create grant funded training classes to teach our young adults how to install panels that eventually lead to employment. The ultimate goal would be to get enough interested so that they may start their own business. This is one of many ideals we’ve discussed. 

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?

If elected, I would suggest or create a benchmark process for the first two years. I would like to hear from the ED to find out what has or were his largest struggles. Then we would move forward based on what we had, what we needed to accomplish, how to get it done, provide the resources he/she needs to meet the demands of the people of Broadview. “Do you feel the Executive Director is doing a good job?” Yes but with additional resources and less POLITICAL MANAGEMENT from certain commissioners-not the president, he would be able to soar for the people of Broadview. 

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

Yes. “What could hinder those efforts?” The elected officials being self servants. 

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