2009 Candidate Statements
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Richard
Nice to meet you, last night, at the church social for candidates.
I believe our intents align -- there isn't the population growth requiring a by-pass, nor are the school populations growing to require new construction . . . it's just not happening now or in the future.
Below is the website I spoke about: http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Rich_States_Poor_States
Respectfully
Gary Schamburg
O’Fallon HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 203 Candidate (endorsed by Our Tax Money)
Home -- 618-622-3692
Cell -- 618-514-1176
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Hello Mr Richard Ellerbrake
My name is Brian Wells. I'm running for Trustee for the village of Swansea and I received your survey.
(I started to answer your survey, but found it too general. Examples "Using taxpayer dollars to potentially bring some jobs to my city is OK" This would depend on how much money and what kind of jobs. "Abandoning assets instead of repairing them is cheaper and acceptable in most cases" Again it depends on what. I got rid of my gas guzzling 1975 ford truck, but I repair our 1929 house. So I'll just tell you my stand on key issues.
I applaud your efforts to try and stop the Gateway Connector. What I have found is new highways do not alleviate congestion; they usually add congestion. Good public transportation is the only thing I've seen that consistently eases congestion.
Growth usually does not benefit the average citizen. It brings more traffic, litter, noise, taxes (new sewers and such), crime, and eliminates places for our children to play. What it gives is higher salaries and better benefits to politicians. More people means more money in their pockets.
I believe IL & MO have both gone nuts with Eminent Domain. I have written numerous letters to Federal and State Reps, newspapers, and have picketed against it.
Thank you for my chance to respond.
Brian Wells
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By cary on Mar 16, 2009
The following (in bold) are the positions asked about by the Citizens for Smart Growth. They have asked for a response of Strongly Agree, Agree, No Opinion, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree for each position. I've taken the time to answer each of these with more than just one or two words.
To serve
my constituents best, I must usually disregard the needs of other
cities
As an Alderman, my first responsibility is to the residents of my
ward and then the residents of the city. I believe that policies
which are good for the people of my city are generally good for
people in any city. If an issue arose which pitted the needs of
the people of one municipality against another, clearly I would
be an advocate of the residents of Belleville first, but would
seek to reconcile the issue in a mutually agreeable way. In
general, I strongly disagree with this statement.
Every
transportation corridor does not stimulate economic activity
Including the word "every" makes this an absolute
statement: either it is true in every instance, or it is false.
Since I do not know about every transportation corridor in
Illinois, much less the United States, I cannot truthfully agree
nor disagree; thus as given, I have no opinion.
Nevertheless, as the Citizens for Smart Growth organization is
specifically concerned with the Gateway Connector, I'll spend a moment
addressing this particular transportation corridor. From a
cursory look at the information provided at IL DoT's site, I
would disagree with the assumption that the "highway
corridor" as described will stimulate
economic activity in the St. Louis Metro East area. It appears
that the corridor is designed to funnel traffic into Scott AFB,
from the different cities and communities in the surrounding area.
While the side effect of increasing the number of people employed
on base would provide a trickle-down effect in the Metro East, it
does not appear to do anything to encourage materials production,
manufacturing, or small businesses and entrepreneurs, who provide many more jobs, collectively, than a
singe entity.
Using
taxpayer dollars to potentially bring some jobs to my city is OK
This is the argument for Tax Increment Financing. When used sparingly, TIFs
can provide needed incentives to re-vitalize truly blighted areas.
However, Belleville has led Illinois (following Chicago) in
establishing TIF districts in areas which have been declared
"blighted", but in reality, are not. I disagree with
this usage of TIFs.
Another way this statement could be interpreted is in regards to
increasing the number of city employees. If the city is growing
and more employees are truly needed, I do not have a problem
spending taxpayer money in additional salaries. But I strongly
oppose granting employment as a political favors or unnecessarily
creating new positions.
Abandoning
assets instead of repairing them is cheaper and acceptable in
most cases
There are frequently tax incentives for doing this very thing,
and it makes little sense to me! While big companies can afford
to build new to take advantage of these incentives, small
businesses and entrepreneurs cannot. However, to prevent an area
or building from becoming blighted, all levels of government
should offer these smaller businesses appropriate incentives (tax
breaks, subsidized loans, lenient zoning concessions, etc.) to
move into these abandoned buildings and take care of them through
repairs or renovations. This usage of tax dollars can be cheaper
and more effective in the long run than holding onto an abandoned
building until it must be torn down.
I believe
the Region needs more public transportation
On the one hand, I strongly agree with this sentiment.
Public transportation, done correctly, provides an efficient,
cost-effective and resource-responsible alternative to driving
your own vehicle. On the other hand, the existing Metro transportation system is neither efficient
nor cost-effective, and I strongly disagree with pouring
more taxpayer money into that system!
I believe
Illinois should divert $23.7 million from studying the GC
corridor to other needs
I assume that "$27.3 million" is a budgeted amount for
the Gateway Connector highway program. With Illinois' $11.5 billion budget deficit, lawmakers
will have to eliminate 64 $23.7 million projects in order to
break even! And who knows how much more in order to pay down our $106 billion (and growing) debt! In
this light, I agree that at this time, the best use of
the Illinois' taxpayer's money is not on the GC highway.
It is
acceptable to delay repairing existing infrastructure to pay for
new development
This very idea is at the center of my current Alderman campaign.
I believe that Belleville has done exactly this and it has caused
problems for the residents of my ward, my (hopefully!) future
constituents. Namely, Belleville's sewer system is nearly a
century old (if not older!) and there have been cases of backups
and pipeline breaks causing the residents a large inconvenience.
In another instance, Belleville has let the sidewalks deteriorate
and become overrun with grass, and overgrown with tree branches,
making walking difficult, if not outright dangerous. For years,
the mayor and aldermen have pushed a so-called "50-50
program" in which property owners and the city split the
cost of sidewalk repair, as long as a contractor chosen by the
city was used. Just recently, a resident challenged the mayor's
contention that this was a legal requirement and the mayor backed
down and is now "investigating" the possibility of the
city paying for sidewalks along low-income property. As alderman,
I would work to make sure that existing infrastructure is capable
of handling the planned development and growth as well as
sustaining existing levels of service.
To me,
Metro Equity means revitalizing cities along the MI (sic) river
and I favor that.
(My answer assumes the author of the questionnaire meant the
Mississippi (MS) river rather than the Michigan (MI) river.)
According to the Metro Equity site and its sister projects, this is a movement/organization/project
whose goals are "Equitable Development, Social Justice and
Smart Growth", goals which I also support. Goodness knows,
the metro east cities along the Illinois-side of the Mississippi
River: East Carondelet, Cahokia, East St. Louis, Brooklyn, Venice,
Granite City, Wood River, and Alton, need revitalizing. As an
Alderman in Belleville, my influence on these cities will be
negligible and my concerns focused away from the river, but I am
open to learning more about Metro Equity and what their members
are doing for other Metro East cities.
Quality of
life in the Metro East improves with more and more development
Quality of life is a subjective measurement and dependent upon
the individual for determination of improvement or deterioration.
So as worded, I have no opinion.
Traffic
congestion is a big problem already and more roads will alleviate
that
From a personal perspective, I disagree that traffic congestion
within Illinois is a big problem. Crossing the river into
Missouri, however, does create a bottleneck and an additional
bridge would be welcome, but that lies outside my influence as a
city alderman. If I were able to direct the Illinois DoT, rather
than new roads, I would have them work on the existing roads as
the existing quality is lacking. Going to school in Texas, I
drove across Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas regularly, and
Illinois' roads rank below all of those.
As each
individual is less important than the community, using eminent
domain for the public benefit is acceptable
I strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. New London, where the majority agreed
that eminent domain can be used to take land from one private
owner and transfer it to another private owner for the purpose of
increasing property taxes via development. Despite the Court's
ruling, I strongly believe that the Bill of Right's authors had a
very different purpose in mind when they wrote "No person
shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public
use, without just compensation." However, eminent domain is
a lawful and useful tool available to government bodies, and
should not be dismissed outright. This tool should not be
delegated to private entities, but used wisely and openly by
elected officials so the public may hold them accountable for the
exercise of this power.
There need
be no limit on the number of TIF districts in my city
Belleville is second only to Chicago in the number of TIF
districts created. So far, we have only seen limited or no
results from the existing districts. In Belleville's case, I
would oppose the creation of more TIFs until the existing one's
were removed or allowed to expire.
The amount
of private land already taken for public use in the Region is
well above the national average.
This is either a true or false statement and I do not know enough
about the subject to answer correctly, so I decline to answer
until I have further knowledge.
I want to
apply smart growth principles to development in my community
Doesn't everyone? In my opinion, "smart growth principles"
include infrastructure expansion/maintenance to handle
anticipated development; realistic population rate projections;
accommodating both "brand-name" corporations as well as
local small businesses and entrepreneurs; actively maintaining
roads and sidewalks within residential areas to increase citizens'
pride of their neighborhoods; and finally, keeping residents
informed of what the city is doing.
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The respondent neither signed the questionnaires nor included their return addresses on the envelope in which they sent their reply.
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The respondent neither signed the questionnaires nor included their return addresses on the envelope in which they sent their reply.
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