Candidates share views

League forum gives public chance to hear about city issues

Posted 3/19/19

All three candidates running for Rochelle Mayor and five of seven candidates running for Rochelle City Council were present at a public forum this past Sunday to share their platforms and answer questions about local issues facing the city.

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Candidates share views

League forum gives public chance to hear about city issues

Posted

ROCHELLE — All three candidates running for Rochelle Mayor and five of seven candidates running for Rochelle City Council were present at a public forum this past Sunday to share their platforms and answer questions about local issues facing the city.

The Rochelle Area League of Women Voters hosted the event and held two separate segments with the mayoral candidates being featured first and the council candidates following. 

Candidates were given two minutes each for opening statements before they answered a number of questions provided by the league and also from the audience. They were then given another two minutes for closing statements.

In the mayor’s race, four-term incumbent candidate Chet Olson is being challenged by current councilman John Bearrows and Cassandra Lasoya. All three were present and expressed their opinions on several topics and what direction they would like Rochelle to be moving toward.

Olson pointed to the industrial growth the city has realized during his 16-year tenure as mayor, adding that the city needs more affordable homes and higher-paying jobs.
“The biggest thing I hear is we have high real estate taxes,” he said. “I envisioned our industrial growth would bring taxes down, but it hasn’t happened. We have created a lot of important intergovernmental relationships and are working on incentives to provide improved services and quality of life amenities for residents.”

Bearrows highlighted his local long-time business career and said one of the big issues on the horizon is how to fund the state-mandated police and fire pensions. He also said finalizing the transmission sale is important so the city can increase its revenue and grow.

“I believe retail growth is important, but we also need to give people more things to do here,” Bearrows stated. “I want to create a vision group made up of members of all the area’s taxing bodies, so we are all working together to bring what we need to town.”

Lasoya said she has owned small businesses in Rochelle and she believes population growth is the top issue the city is facing.

“I don’t have a college degree, but I can see that things aren’t getting done and we don’t have any growth,” she said. “Finding ways to get people to locate her is important.”

All three mayoral candidates said intergovernmental agreements with other local taxing bodies is important, as is staying in touch with residents, citizen committees and the Latino population. Residential growth and providing affordable housing was a priority for all three as well.

The candidates were questioned about their views on city ordinances regarding marijuana dispensaries if recreational use is legalized in Illinois.

Lasoya said she is in favor of allowing dispensaries to operate in town if it is going to help business grow.

Bearrows said if the public is going to buy marijuana somewhere else but still use it in town, then the city may as well benefit from the sales by allowing dispensaries.

Olson said when it comes to recreational use of marijuana he believes all factors be weighed before allowing dispensaries and money shouldn’t be the only consideration.

Council forum

Five of the seven council candidates were present for the LWV forum on Sunday, including incumbents Bill Hayes and Tom McDermott, along with challengers Ryan Carson, AnnMarie Green and John Gruben.

Incumbent candidate Don Burke and challenger Jeffrey Phillips were not present for the forum.

McDermott who is a lifelong Rochelle resident, stated that he was employed his entire adult life with the city and has worked with many mayors and city managers over the years. He pointed to his various management degrees and overall experience as a leader and current councilman.

Hayes is also a lifelong resident and he explained how committed to the community he is by serving many years as a councilman and also as a child advocate.

Carson grew up in Rochelle and currently sits on the city’s planning board and also on the civic center authority board. He said he is raising his family in Rochelle and that is an important qualification because he wants to see the city move in the right direction and is ready to take the next step in public service.

Green pointed out that she has been employed as a dean at Kishwaukee College and worked for a government body for more than 20 years. She is involved with the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and said is well-versed in budget planning and change management, and believes in a making small but effective changes to improve the direction of the city.

Gruben, who is a lifelong resident of Rochelle, said his background as a college educator and work in private industry makes him an excellent candidate to help provide leadership, vision and change-management guidance to the city.

When asked about the biggest issues facing the city, the council candidates gave varied responses.

“The ability to work with other governmental bodies is very important and we need to work to keep a balanced budget,” Hayes stated. “The police and fire pension funding is a big issue as are the NextEra transmission sale, the landfill and downtown revitalization.”

“Infrastructure is key. We have pipe, water and electric lines that all need to be replaced throughout the city and we won’t be able to grow if those aren’t addressed,” McDermott said. “The landfill is operating at just one-third its capacity, because they have slowed down traffic because of not wanting to put in a new liner on the old unit.”

Carson said he believes residential growth is most important.

“We need to find how to attract our work force to located here,” he said. “Look at all of the out-of-town workers who come here and make money at our industries, but take it home somewhere else and spend it.”

“Empty retail locations, affordable housing and adding more quality of life amenities for youth are all important issues for the council,” Green said. “The pension funding also needs to be solved.”

“We need to maintain city functions and realize that change is happening and we need a change-management system in place so we move in the right direction,” Gruben said.

All council candidates felt the city owned utilities, including the airport, railroad and power systems are big advantages for Rochelle in attracting industrial growth and providing revenue.

When asked by an audience member whether the city should give up the municipal parking lot across from the fire station to be used for as a market plaza, all candidates stated they believe parking spots are a premium downtown and that lot should be preserved to serve private downtown businesses.

When asked about marijuana legislation if it is legalized for recreational use, all five candidates echoed each other and said as long as certain regulations are in place and being met that they would allow a marijuana dispensary business in Rochelle.

In their closing statements, each candidate expressed their desire to help improve the community.

“Rochelle is a great community with a great spirit that we need to tap into,” Carson stated.

“We need to make sure we get full community input through surveys so we are planning, coding and budgeting to make the best impact for the most people,” Green said.

“I have a unique set of skills and I have time to be able to give back to the community by creating an environment to keep residents of all ages here,” Gruben added.

“I try to listen to everyone and try to be fair to all in the decisions I make for the community,” Hayes said.

“We have five good people up here and I just urge residents to find three of them who are aligned best with their beliefs and get out to vote,” McDermott said.