Three vie for seat in city's Third Ward
Friday, April 6, 2007
GALESBURG - Three candidates are squaring off for the Ward 3 seat on the Galesburg City Council in the April 17 consolidated election. Margaret Vasquez, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Alderman Russell "Monte" Gifford after his death, faces challengers Gary Swigert and Russell Fleming. The candidates were sent a questionnaire by The Register-Mail. Their responses are below.1. What do you think of the efforts to clean up the former O.T. Johnson site? What would you do differently, if anything?
Vasquez: The city is doing everything they are expected to do at the O.T. Johnson site. There are laws the city has to follow. There are environmental lows and structural problems that have to be taken care of first.
Swigert: It's taken longer than I thought it should, but when you have to follow EPA guidelines for the asbestos in the bricks and debris, the effort has been good. There is nothing you could do differently except follow the rules from the EPA.
Fleming: It is going slow. The city jumped at the chance to acquire that property, letting the owner off the hook way too soon. An environmental study should have been done before the city acquired the property. I would have begun repair of the sidewalk almost immediately. I used to work in that building. Had a sprinkler system been hooked up, perhaps a life could have been saved and there would not be the pile of rubble there is today. And the city would not be facing a $500,000 disposal cost.
2. What do you think about the progress of economic development in the city, particularly with respect to Logistics Park-Galesburg?
Vasquez: The progress of the economic development in the city is going very slow. We should look into hiring a developer who specializes in developing businesses at the Logistics Park. The city should have an in-house economic development director, somebody who only does this as their job.
Swigert: With all the money we give them, it would be nice to see some progress and not taking all these trips to China. Hopefully with the money they got for the foreign trade zone, we will see some movement.
Fleming: There is economic progress being made in this city. Development on North Seminary Street, Starbucks, new management for Sandburg Mall, etc. But we need more. I feel the placement of the Logistics Park was wrong, although I hope it is successful. Prime land next to an Interstate could have been put to better use in my opinion.
3. There has been a fairly decent amount of retail development recently in the city. One area still trying to get back on its feet is Sandburg Mall. With that in mind, what would your feelings be if the new mall owners approached the city for financial assistance? If you are opposed to such assistance, would you feel differently if the money was needed to bring a specific store, whatever it might be?
Vasquez: If the new mall owners approached the city for financial assistance, we should consider this option if the new mall owners had specific stores they were trying to attract to Galesburg. We should have a solid plan in place before any financial assistance is given.
Swigert: I would be against giving them any assistance unless it was to bring in a store of some kind.
Fleming: I am confident the new owners of Sandburg Mall already have a business plan in place that will grow the Mall. We should strive to make it easier for business to succeed in the city, being careful not to give one an economic advantage over the other. But we can do that in many ways. For example, the new two percent food and beverage tax is a burdensome tax, creating more bureaucracy with more forms to fill out, therefore taking more time away from both businesses and city workers.
4. Outside of the first three questions, what do you think is the most important issue facing the city and how would you address it.
Vasquez: The most important issue facing the city is the water system. We need to have a plan in place on how we are going to pay for the whole process. Funds from the water bill department should be used for the excess cost.
Swigert: Putting in a new water line from the river and using bonds to pay for it.
Fleming: Lack of common sense. This city has so many issues, including jobs, water, unbalanced budgets, etc. Many resulting from what I would call poor stewardship of taxpayer money. We redo Main Street and it looks worse. We tear out bricks on Second Street to place on Broad Street while brick sidewalks around town sink in the mud. I would welcome the opportunity to work with others who possess the common sense to make better decisions. I favor taking a long-range approach to solving issues.
Profiles
Margaret Vasquez
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Address: 2175 Baird Ave.
Telephone: 342-2761
Education: High School graduate Class of 1973, some college
Occupation: Customer representative
Prior elected offices held or sought: No response
Gary Swigert
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Address: 798 Day St.
Telephone: 342-7638
Education: Graduated high school
Occupation: Tow truck driver
Prior elected offices held or sought: None
Russell Fleming
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Address: 900 Locust St.
Telephone: 343-2779
Education: College graduate. U.S. Adjutant General School at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Government trained auditor. Computer training from Carl Sandburg College. And the school of hard knocks.
Occupation: Retired from Hill Correctional Center as an accountant. Now self-employed. Working on computers is the work I enjoy the most.
Prior elected offices held or sought: No response
