Peoria Illinoisan

Nice job on the radio…

Adjust seat to upright position and proper distance from steering wheel. Check.

Hook seat belt. Check.

Adjust rear view mirror. Check.

Adjust driver side mirror. Check.

Adjust passenger side mirror. WTF? There is none!

Ok, who did I piss off this time…

So began my morning. I got out and looked around, expecting to find the shattered remains of my mirror on the ground, but I found nothing. There was absolutely no evidence that anything had happened, except of course that my mirror was missing. It wasn’t broken off but appears to have been removed with care.

I have two theories as to why my mirror was stolen.

1. Someone needed a replacement passenger-side mirror for their truck which had been shot out during a recent drug deal gone bad.

2. A college kid thought a mirror that said “objects in mirror may be closer than they appear� hanging in their dorm would be cool.

All I know is I’m mirrorless and fairly annoyed that I have to go through the hassle of taking my truck to the shop to get a new mirror installed. On the bright side, at least now I’ll get that oil change I’ve been putting off. Always gotta look for that silver lining!

I’m still annoyed though.

I was talking to my wife when I had the funny thought that if someone can ’stuff the ballot box’ with five votes for one person, then we should also be allowed to negate that with five negative votes.

Under my new cumulative voting rules, each voter would get five positives votes and five negative votes. I wonder how that would affect the outcome?

I applaud those who are trying to preserve Glen Oak Park, but I question their real intentions. The timing seems odd, given the recent controversy over the Glen Oak School siting.

I should come as no surprise to anyone that I love history and historic places- Glen Oak Park would certainly qualify as that. I wish I could’ve seen the Palm House or the Lagoon in it’s hey-day, but I can’t and never will except in my dreams and through books and postcards. Historic designation will not bring these features back.

Is this really about ’saving’ the park’s history, or what is left of it, or is it about keeping out the school- which I personally think is still on the table.

What truly historic features of the park are left? The suspension bridge. The cannon and parapet. The rotunda (not sure what it’s really called). The Pavilion building. Two of the four are supposedly coming down.

I support the Zoo expansion, and as many of you know, I am somewhat involved with the Children’s Museum which will be located in the Pavilion Building. Neither of these projects should be affected by the outcome of the preservation ruling.

Do I want to save the suspension bridge and the parapet? You can bet your life on it. They’re slated for removal while at the same time the park board is pushing to rip out train tracks that travel through prime industrial areas for a walking/biking trail that will cost a ton of dough and continue to prove Peoria’s reputation as an unfriendly business town.

Maybe I’m not completely opposed to the historical designation, but I guess I get frustrated by agenda’s which are pushed and publicized for one reason when the real reason it is being done is totally separate. I could be totally wrong, but I think the school, zoo, and general frustration with the park board just happened come together and culminate to a point where some people couldn’t take it anymore and felt they had to do something.

We’ll soon see how it all turns out. I’m all for preservation, but I also don’t want to tie the hands of the park district so tightly in red tape that nothing new can be accomplished or even suggested.

As promised, in the posts below are the answers to the 9 questions I asked each of the candidates running for Peoria at-large council seats. I wasn’t quite sure what type of responses I would receive- not to mention how many responses, since I imagine that most elected officials probably feel that bloggers are nothing more than thorns in their sides… especially anonymous ones…

Ten chose to participate: Brad Carter, Donald Cummings, Dan Irving, George Jacob, Kelley Mammen, Gary Sandberg, Chuck Schierer, Ryan Spain, Gale Thetford, & Eric Turner. Those who did not were Gloria Cassel Fitzgerald, Dan Gillette, Jim Montelongo and Patti Polk.

I was curious as to how people would respond to specific and direct questions about some hot issues of late, and issues that concern me. I wanted to look at all of the answers side by side, which is why I published them as I did. I also threw in some general open-ended questions just for fun to get a take on their personalities. Other than a few minor spelling corrections, I reprinted all of the answers as they were written.

The PJStar and the Chamber of Commerce have questionnaires also [here] and [here], but isn’t it so much more fun when you can comment on them!?

The primary is Tuesday, Feb 27. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

Update: I received this email from Brad Carter- “I am glad to see most of the candidates participated in your questionnaire. However, I see some answered the questions later than others. I was thinking you may want to somehow tell when the questions were asked to show the relevance as to some of the issues that were voted on at the last council meeting.”

Fair enough.

I sent out my questionnaire on the afternoon of Sunday the 18th. Four responded quickly and two inquired about my timeline and asked for a couple of days because of scheduling and job issues. Tuesday’s city council meeting discussed and voted on both the Kellar Branch issue and the Civic Center hotel. Those who responded before the meeting were Brad Carter, Donald Cummings, Chuck Schierer, and Eric Turner.

The other six (Dan Irving, George Jacob, Kelly Mammen, Jim Montelongo oops, Gary Sandberg, Ryan Spain, and Gale Thetford) responded after the meeting, throughout the latter part of the week.

I don’t know if anyone consciously waited to see the outcome of the meeting before committing to an answer or not. I tend to doubt it, but I’ll let you come to your own conclusion.

What is your position on the Keller Branch?

Brad Carter: First, I am surprised that the issue for this election has turned out to be the Kellar Branch.
I have the unpopular opinion that the city should sell the Kellar Branch to Pioneer (who have now upped their offer). I came to this conclusion based on 2 points: Point 1 - Peoria cannot afford to lose the economic development potential this line can and will bring. There are and have been several companies wanting to invest in growth cell 2, but are afraid to because the future of Kellar is undecided. Point 2 - According to the Peoria Park Districts own numbers, the trail conversion will cost $6 million. To date, they have $4 million. I have talked with developers who say there needs to be a 1 in front of both of those numbers. This will mean a tax increase to our property taxes which I and many others cannot afford.
Disclaimer: Much of the history I know on the Kellar Branch came from C J Summers at The Peoria Chronicle. PIR has offered money to my campaign after they saw where I stood on this issue, but I have not taken any money from them at this point.

Donald Cummings: The Kellar Branch is an excellent concept for rail and trail. I believe that it needs to be used as both.

Dan Irving: Based on the current information that has been put forward, the decision to keep our options open for a trail I support.

George Jacob: I support continuing to pursue a recreational trail. We need to continue to review this to determine if joint use or limited joint use is feasible. The Western connection must continue to be improved in order to improve service available to Carver Lumber or other potential users, and to enhance development in Growth Cell 2.

Kelley Mammen: That is such a beautiful area and I feel that it should be a trail only. It can than be marketed and maybe someday it can be used as a cross country ski path (if it isn’t already). As a city gets bigger we need to maintain areas like this for our children and future families and residents. Someday it could all be gone.

Gary Sandberg: I have consistently voted to continue rail service down the Kellar Branch to connect to the multiple carriers available along the riverfront. I also believe that trolley service from the northern extremes of Peoria to downtown would be ideal if the market will support without public subsidy. I believe that the only way to support a recreational trail would be for the trail to be subordinate to the rail use.

Chuck Schierer: I am in favor of the trail. If we are serious about economic development and creating a new family friendly amenity to Peoria, then the trail must go through.

Ryan Spain: I support the transition of the Kellar Branch from rail to trail and will work to enhance viable rail service into Pioneer Industrial Park from the west.

Gale Thetford: I support the abandonment of the portion of the Kellar Branch between Springdale Cemetery and Pioneer parkway for a recreational walking/hiking trail. I believe that the City’s development of the western spur provides rail service for those businesses interested in rail as a mode of delivering services or supplies.

Eric Turner: We committed to the Trail some time ago and I have been a supporter from the beginning. Not only is it a Quality of Life issue it has a element of Economic Development. Junction Ventures LLC has already invested $15 Million dollars but he has 2 other potential investors along the trail that may invest up to $45 million. That is true economic development w/o any need for city money.

What is your position on the proposed Civic Center hotel?

Brad Carter: To answer the specific question, I am against the hotel and the proposed TIF. Government should never be in direct competition with private business except where public safety is involved. The proposed hotel will further hurt existing businesses that the Civic Center already hurts with the HRA tax. The Civic Center was supposed to be self sufficient before the expansion. It wasn’t. In twenty years the Civic Center finished in the black one or two times, but not without a subsidy from the city. It is time the Civic Center is expected to perform. I propose rebating the HRA tax back to the existing hotels so they can upgrade to a full service hotel that the Civic Center says is so desperately needed.

Donald Cummings: The Civic Center must be able to prove that it can sustain itself without having to rely on the City to bail them out.

Dan Irving: The City of Peoria has a serious problem in regards to the Civic Center and a potential hotel. We have spent $55 million dollars on a renovation and when the upgrade was first proposed, the Civic Center indicated they did not need a hotel to make the expansion project work. Now, we need a new hotel in order to maintain our convention bookings and to keep up with the new Embassy Suites and Convention Center under construction in East Peoria. As a city, we need to make sure our economic development department is working in conjunction with the Civic Center, the Economic Development Council, and the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to market our city and to find potential hotel developers willing to come to Peoria for a building project with little or no subsidy. Alternatively, we need to make sure we have exhausted all our options to work with our existing hotels. There was a proposal put forth by the Pere’ Marquette that would construct a sky walk from their hotel to the Civic Center for an amount near $2.8 million dollars. If we pursue that option to work with an existing hotel, we need to be asking what commitments the Pere’ Marquette is willing to make for continued upgrades to their hotel. We need to develop a strategic plan in order to move forward and if along the way we find our convention bookings are exceeding our available room nights, we must be ready with an alternative option to keep up with our market demand.
I think it was the right thing to do and not approve a TIF district for the Civic Center at this time. We still have a lot of options to research in order to obtain the best deal for our taxpayers.

George Jacob: I support working to bring a downtown hotel to Peoria. If incentives are extended to the developer, they must be fair to existing businesses.

Kelley Mammen: When I go to conferences I love having the hotel adjacent. It makes it so easy and you don’t have to worry about outer coats etc. At this point I feel it would be more advantageous to take the Pere and see if we can’t add a beautiful walkway to the civic center. Here we have a historic hotel that could use a boost and the civic center so close together. Imagine a sky walk over to the civic center that is lit and has benches. It would be a crowd pleasure and a draw.

Gary Sandberg: I do NOT favor any subsidy for the Civic Center Hotel. The “public sector” has provided more than enough subsidy for the underlying need for a hotel in the construction and funding of various attractions. Government should NOT be in the business of micro-managing the economy thru subsidies making one business a winner and the next, by absence of subsidy, a loser.

Chuck Schierer: There is not enough data in to determine how this should be handled. There needs to be a hotel attached to the Civic Center. This would increase the number of conventions and tax dollars to Peoria. However, private investors should pay for the majority of the cost, not taxpayers. I know some have suggested this be included in the TIF district, but there has not been sufficient information provided that would support such a measure. I would evaluate it should it become available. Otherwise, I will support private investors paying for the hotel.

Ryan Spain: I do not support the city council’s decision to eliminate the Civic Center hotel site from the current Warehouse District TIF study. The council needs to remain open to various options regarding an attached Civic Center hotel –especially as surrounding communities become more competitive in the visitor-based convention market.

Gale Thetford: This issue has been put to bed by the current City Council.

Eric Turner: I truly feel that if we don’t drastically upgrade our downtown hotel stock we will have a great civic center but the visitors will be staying in East Peoria. There are already rumors that developers are talking about another hotel in East Peoria. This would result in a massive loss of HRA and Sales Tax dollars. There is no question we as the Major City in the Region need to have a new Downtown “Full Service” hotel to compete and maintain our current customer base.

What is your position on the Glen Oak School controversy?

Brad Carter: The school needs to stay where it is at. First, this is the will of the residents in Glen Oak School boundary. Second, how many more empty buildings do we need in our neighborhoods? An empty school building is a blight to the neighborhood and a place for criminal activity to occur. I believe schools such a Glen Oak are key neighborhood infrastructure components and are vital to neighborhood stabilization.

Donald Cummings: The Glen Oak School should have been rebuilt at it’s present location and the School Board has shown that they are not willing to partner or listen to anyone who does not share their views even to their own financial demise.

Dan Irving: I personally feel the Glen Oak school issue could have been better communicated to the taxpayers of the school district. Whenever changes are being made with a body of government funded by taxpayers, it is the responsibility of the body to over communicate to the citizens in order to get their message out, receive input from the public and then move forward based on the input received.

George Jacob: A lot of the controversy regarding the Glen Oak School was due to communication breakdowns. We need to work to improve this process. We have other schools that will be discussed and I remain optimistic that we can work together and be effective. There is nearly universal agreement that the school districts, particularly 150, are a linchpin of the future success of our community.
As we move forward, it is important to recognize that decisions made regarding Schools or other anchors in the community must be made with the understanding that there is real impact to neighborhoods. All stakeholder decisions (eg Schools, PHA, Park District etc) must be considered with the impact to neighborhoods in mind. I understand that many of the stakeholders are separate taxing and governing bodies, and we must certainly respect their independence. However, if we want to best serve the citizens and the taxpayers we must work together to get the best results.

Kelley Mammen: First off the park is for all and I do not want the school built on park property or even near it. I think that has been stopped. I would like to see a comprehensive over view of schools and numbers in classrooms along with projected future enrollments. Without that information I think to tear down GO and build a new school there would be the answer. It was good enough once. That will keep it a neighborhood school and keep from having another empty building. Just down the hill is Woodruff and Lincoln school so to move that way would cause a concentration of schools in one area.

Gary Sandberg: I believe there was not sufficient public debate on the Glen Oak Park location prior to preliminary deals being made. I support expansion at the current location at Frye and Wisconsin.

Chuck Schierer: The Park Board is a separate entity and has voted no on the Glen Oak School. Unless they will reconsider their decision, the issue is over. New schools do not equate to higher test scores. I think we should be spending out time figuring out how to get parents involved in their children’s education.

Ryan Spain: I was disappointed with the handling of the Glen Oak School site discussion and believe that significant damage was done to the relationships between the city council, school board, and park board. However, I do believe in the importance of updating our older schools to create a better educational environment for children in Peoria. This issue must be the focal point of continued discussions regarding the Glen Oak School site.

Gale Thetford: It is my hope that the school district, the city, the neighborhood leaders, and the families who have children attending Glen Oak School can work together to have a new school for the East Bluff. The worst thing that could happen is that there would not be a new primary school in the East Bluff as a result of this controversy.

Eric Turner: I am not on the school board and do not have a vote but in my opinion the Neighbors and people impacted should have had thorough involvement from the beginning via community meetings and forums. You don’t make a decision that major w/o their input.

How do you feel about Peoria’s bullet voting system?

Brad Carter: I think it is unfair and does the opposite of what it was intended to do. A person with the least amount of voters can get the most votes. I propose each voter can have up to five votes, but can only vote for a candidate once. If a voter chooses to vote for less than five candidates, they relinquish the remaining votes.

Donald Cummings: Bullet voting was a way to right a past wrong. It has not accomplished it intended purpose. I favor 2 councilmen from each of the 5 districts.

Dan Irving: I am not in favor of cumulative voting. I believe that one person should have one vote. As an alternative idea, I would propose we evaluate the election of two council members each from the current five districts or re-evaluate the current districts and establish ten, better balanced districts throughout the city.

George Jacob: We need to work to change the system. I believe that it distorts results and does not effectively meet the original goal of increased minority voice and involvement. I would welcome an open dialog with community input on the entire structure of the muni system (eg district vs at large, etc). We also need to try to increase overall voter turnout and involvement in the elective process.

Kelley Mammen: Ask me again after this election (ha ha). It should be one person one vote period. It is not done in any other election around here. The bullet voting can keep bad people in and good people out.

Gary Sandberg: (THIS IS REPRINT OF MY ANSWER TO SIMILAR QUESTION POSED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE) I was elected three terms as a District representative without cumulative voting and twice as At Large with cumulative voting so I do not see that cumulative voting is the issue as much as the number of Council members that are elected by the entire City in lieu of districts. With 5 At Larges plus the Mayor, a majority of the Council is elected by the entire Community and loses the focused direction of a constituency that District Council members have. The initial Plaintiffs did NOT seek or want the 5 At Large members elected cumulatively, The Plaintiffs wanted all District representatives. It was the then sitting Council with 3 At Larges that felt the At Large representation was extremely necessary that the current system was agreed to. Cumulative voting has provided for minority leverage and election of at least one in each At Large election, so therefore I guess the desired effect has been met, but at the expense of now having the majority of the Council without a true definable constituency.
In short, cumulative voting doesn’t matter one way or the other when the discussion should revolve around ratio of District to At Large or whether At Large representation is really beneficial or would the initial Plaintiff’s demand better serve the City

Chuck Schierer: I oppose cumulative voting. It does not help minorities. All this system does is entrench incumbents because of their name recognition. If we want a fresh perspective on the Peoria City Council, get rid of cumulative voting.

Ryan Spain: I would favor a one person, one vote system.

Gale Thetford: I question whether the bullet voting system actually elects individuals who represent the entire city. But that is the current system and as a result, I certainly hope that I will have earned five votes from some voters.

Eric Turner: I believe in “One person - One vote” That is what Democracy was based on. The current “bullet voting” system that was created through a court decision has never worked as it was supposedly intended.

What is Peoria’s greatest asset?

Brad Carter: The Fire Department. Repeatedly, the Fire Department has been asked to do more with less, and they have. We have one of the best trained Fire Departments in the state right here in Peoria. The city must now find the funds to fully staff the Fire Department and stop risking the lives of Peorians.

Donald Cummings: Peoria’s greatest assets are its people.

Dan Irving: The diversity of our people.

George Jacob: Peoria’s greatest asset is our citizenry. We have committed, hardworking people throughout our neighborhoods that are striving to make this community a better place. They are fighting every day to stabilize our neighborhoods, and to work with their neighbors to make this a better city. Our people really recognize that this is a wonderful community to live, work, and raise a family. Peorians are a very generous lot, with a ton of resources (time, talent and money) dedicated to our not for profits and our churches, and other organizations. We share the Midwestern work ethic. I am delighted to see people that have left return to this community. Peoria puts down deep roots… it is nice to see them return home. We have wonderful natural resources too… the Illinois river, our bluffs, and a world class park system. But at the end of the day, it is our people that really set us a part from so many other communities across the US.

Kelley Mammen: We have a nice, still being built river front. Wildlife Prairie Park. We tend to run small businesses off. We are a city that is on the brink of making it or breaking it. There are many things around us but not in Peoria.

Gary Sandberg: It’s people, it’s Midwestern values, and it’s size that allows for challenges to have solutions.

Chuck Schierer: We have the infrastructure that serves a Fortune 100 company (Caterpillar). Few communities our size can say that. There is no reason we can not leverage that and recruit new companies to set up shop in Peoria.

Ryan Spain: Peoria’s greatest asset is the character and generosity of our people. Peorians rarely fail to rally together and support important civic causes. The revival of the District 150 Truancy Center is one such example, and many more can be found throughout Peoria.

Gale Thetford: I think our greatest asset is our Midwestern work ethic which beats at the heart of each and every citizen.

Eric Turner: I believe Peoria’s greatest asset is its older neighborhood housing stock with their rich charm, History, and diversity. That is why it is essential that the council work in conjunction with neighborhood leaders to do those things that will enhance each specific neighborhood.

What is Peoria’s greatest drawback or obstacle that it faces?

Brad Carter: The obvious answer is people leaving the city for the surrounding communities. The reason for this is high crime and poor schools. On crime: The City Council must tear the budget apart and define its needs (police, fire, basic services) and wants (everything else). It must then fund those needs first, and only then can the wants start to be funded. On schools: Leaders from both the City and District 150 need to have open two-way communication that clearly states what each party’s goals are and how to achieve them. The city does not have a lot of say in what happens in District 150.

Donald Cummings: Our greatest obstacle is to deter crime and improve neighborhoods.

Dan Irving: We must build and continue to improve our current relationships we have with all school districts within the boundaries of the City of Peoria, Peoria County and Peoria Park District. Relationships are built on mutual trust and respect. It is imperative that pro-active communication occur between all units of government. Relationships developed between the units of government can be a catalyst for the sharing of ideas and provide the foundation for working together. As an individual, I have built positive relationships my entire life and clearly understand the benefits. I would propose an annual inter-governmental retreat to share business plans or goals, quarterly meetings between the groups for idea sharing and the promotion of working together.

George Jacob: Crime remains our single largest obstacle. While overall crime was down considerably last year, and violent crime was down slightly, more work needs to be done. People need to feel safe and comfortable in their homes and in their neighborhoods. We have implemented solutions to crime in the last year. These include saturation patrols to bring police staff and resources to bear quickly in to hit the “hot spots” frequented by drug dealers and criminals. We have been very successful in taking large amounts of contraband, and criminals, off the streets. We also need to continue to move forward with our security camera program. While still in the early stages, this may prove to be a very effective way of leveraging the police department resources and allowing our officers to be more effective. It has worked in Chicago and other communities.
We also passed the noise ordinance last year. This has been very effective, through applying strict and immediate penalties for non compliance, and has been an excellent solution for quieting older neighborhoods. While it was a very tough vote, it also demonstrated that many on the council are not satisfied with the status quo, and that our neighborhoods and police need to have the support to have real impact and make changes. We need to continue to work toward solid solutions to problems, and not be afraid of trying new techniques to get different and improved results, particularly in our older neighborhoods.

Kelley Mammen: We are a struggling city. The older neighborhoods are shameful and the school system is in need of major overhaul and work. The crime and gangs bring us down.

Gary Sandberg: Trying to be somewhere or someplace else.

Chuck Schierer: Flight. People are living on the fringes of Peoria because of crime, deteriorating neighborhoods and a poorly perceived school system.

Ryan Spain: As an economic development professional, I believe Peoria is very poor at adapting to change. The world is changing all around us. Nationwide we see that new economies have been created and new technologies have been deployed in other communities. Peoria must be more proactive to react to the changing environment around us. For example, there are 400 communities pursuing wireless internet strategies in the United States. I am working to facilitate this type of infrastructure in Peoria, but more community support is needed.

Gale Thetford: Besides the drug and gang-related crime that is pervasive in some of our neighborhoods and which must be addressed, the other greatest obstacle is that we don’t do as good a job of promoting our city for purposes of attracting new companies and jobs as we could.

Eric Turner: Even though crime has reached epidemic levels throughout the country. It is our biggest hurdle that MUST be over come for our City to continue to attract business, new residents and growth. If a city of our size fails to do that it will begin to die.

What is your favorite Peoria landmark, building or feature?

Brad Carter: The Grand Army of the Republic Hall. This building was built as a place for the Civil War veterans to meet. As a kid growing up, I always wanted to fire the mortars (not cannons) that sit out front. I also like the stained glass windows.

Donald Cummings: Favorite Landmark is Bradley University.

Dan Irving: My favorite Peoria building – 6801 N. Allen Road

George Jacob: We have so much to be proud of in this community. As mentioned, we have a great asset in the river, our parks, the beautiful historic architecture in Moss Bradley, the Uplands and other neighborhoods. It is difficult to beat the view from the east side of the river, at night with the Peoria skyline, however. On a clear calm night, with the boats in the river, and the lights reflecting on the water, framed by the bridges, it is truly spectacular. I always try to bring guests new to Peoria across on the Murray Baker at night. It always seems to elicit the same response… “Wow! This is Peoria?”

Kelley Mammen: My favorite Peoria landmark is the Great Oak on High Street. Whenever I am feeling down or blue I go up there and see the mighty oak and draw strength from it.

Gary Sandberg: The solitude and beauty of Springdale Cemetery

Chuck Schierer: Forest Park Nature Center

Ryan Spain: My favorite Peoria feature is the Illinois River. The river has shaped the development of Peoria and will play a vital role in our future.

Gale Thetford: It is a toss up between the Pettengill-Morron House on Moss, the Flanagan House on Glen Oak and City Hall itself which is a beautiful public building.

Eric Turner: The river, I love its beauty, the commerce that travels up and down it and the potential we have as a city to develop around it.

What is your favorite band or musician?

Brad Carter: Blues musician Keb’ Mo’.

Donald Cummings: Josh Groban and Luther Vandross are my favorite musicians.

Dan Irving: John Denver, He left us too soon

George Jacob: I enjoy all types of music. Classical, rock, blues…name it. We have some wonderful home grown musicians here in town. Nick Boettcher is a young blues guitarist that is going places. You can catch him here in town, but probably not for long. Check him out. If I only had one band to listen to… probably U2. They have been playing for ever but they are still relevant, regardless of your age.

Kelley Mammen: I love all music. I am eclectic in my music. I can go from Josh Groban to 50 cent. Favorite of all times would be Cream and Eric Clapton. They go together.

Gary Sandberg: Favorite local band: Causualman, Favorite musician: Neil Diamond, Favorite non local band: The Beatles

Chuck Schierer: Pearl Jam

Ryan Spain: I play the drums, so my favorite musician is definitely Buddy Rich. He wasn’t a very nice guy, but he was the best drummer ever.

Gale Thetford: I love all kinds of music, but I am an old Beatles and Johnny Cash fan first and foremost.

Eric Turner: I like all types of music from Classical, to Jazz, to Rock to Country Western (I used to travel North & South Dakota for 4 1/2 years).

Open ended- anything you’d like to say?

Brad Carter: I am willing to discuss these or any other issues in depth with anyone interested. You can contact me through my website. I am the candidate without the big signs. My campaign is one of word of mouth, and I need help getting my name out. If you like what I have to say, please let your friends know. Don’t forget to vote Feb. 27th!

Donald Cummings: I want the City of Peoria to be a city where people feel safe so crime and all of the negatives associated with it will be my number one priority. My campaign theme is “Imagine A Safe City”

Dan Irving: I look forward to Playing Positive in Peoria!

George Jacob: I just want to thank the community for the support and for allowing me to serve them on the Peoria City Council for the last 2 years. I have worked hard to be accessible, and to support neighborhoods and citizens in Peoria. We are a city that is going in the right direction; we have excellent economic growth, strong, nearly record employment, and wonderful cultural, educational and recreational resources. We are facilitating opportunities for continued living wage and knowledge economy jobs in the Southern Gateway, the main Street Corridor and throughout Peoria. At the same time we have some major issues that we need to continue to address. We have a very tight budget, too high of a crime rate in many areas, and a significant portion of our population that is not, or feels like that they are not participating in, or have a stake in, our economic progress. People are struggling with increased electric, fuel, and out of pocket insurance costs. We need to continue to reach out and involve ALL of our citizens in our Community. I choose to look at our diversity as a richly woven fabric that is a strength, and not a weakness. We have strong and committed leadership in our City Council, and in many other areas. We need to continue to exercise positive leadership, and develop effective solutions and secure good results and outcomes for our Citizens.
This is a great City and I have been very honored and humbled to play a part in shaping our future.

Kelley Mammen: Wow what a treat-As a native Peorian I have seen much in this city. I was around when we were number 2 and now number 6. I remember Richwoods Township and the annexation. The center of the city use to be by the Lakeview Museum and who knows where it is at today. Ask yourself why each person is running. . It should be for the good of the city not for themselves. Ask yourself why people spend so much money to “win” a seat. Is it for them or the city?” Each person has their reason. Just make sure it is for the right reason and that reason should be for the city and not themselves.
I love this city and the people in it. I will work for them and hold them as my sounding board and mirror.

Gary Sandberg: Basic Essential Services for Taxes CANDIDATE

Chuck Schierer: Peoria is a great place but headed in the wrong direction. We need change on the Peoria City Council. I have served on a city council before. I was elected in Brentwood, Missouri after I graduated from law school (Washington University in St. Louis). We can effectuate change in Peoria without sacrificing experience.

Ryan Spain: Please visit my website for additional information. I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, February 27.

Gale Thetford: I enjoyed being a District Councilperson and hope to be able to address some of our problems from a City-wide perspective. I am committed to maintaining public safety, and making our neighborhoods and our core Downtown as strong as possible. I am also committed to working to retain our existing businesses and develop new job economies for our City. I ask for your support on February 27 and again on April 17th.

Eric Turner: I love this City, everything positive that has occurred in my life happened here. I want to be a part of helping to grow the city and causing good things to happen for others in our community.

To buy or not to buy…

Seriously, I can’t decided. It’s a blast, but damn, you’re talking $30-$50 per seat depending on the game, plus hot-dog and beer money, transportation, dinner. So $200 for two people, increasing exponentially if I take the little ones.

Oh but it’s so fun!

…and what if? What if this was THE YEAR and I didn’t see a game… yea, I know, if I were gambling, I wouldn’t take the bet, but look at all the people who pay the poor-tax (I mean lottery)… surely the chances of the Cubs winning it all is better than winning the lottery! Am I becoming delusional- trying to talk myself into this?

Well, maybe I’ll buy a couple tickets. Bleachers. Against the Cardinals. I wonder if my ticket cheat still works.

Update: once you enter the ‘virtual waiting room’, just copy and paste the link into a new tab. Voila, you have now doubled your chances of getting in.

Update 2: Two bleacher tickets against the Cardinals in the middle of August when the Cubs usually start to wilt under the sun. $84 + $15.18 in fees.

I think my purchases will stop there.