03-18-2009, 09:26 PM
03-19-2009, 05:16 PM
Kind of long, but worth the read.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/election/1479405,waukegan-mayoral-candidates-031809.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 09.article</a><!-- m -->
Hyde sure doesn't offer much.
Some one posted in another thread that like he is more of a follower than a leader.
Apparently there is some truth in that.
Read on.
March 18, 2009
NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT
WAUKEGAN â Incumbent Democratic Mayor Richard Hyde faces a rematch against County Board member Robert Sabonjian and a challenge from Republican Greg Flesher on the April 7 ballot.
Sabonjian, a 10-year veteran of the County Board who is running as an independent, ran for mayor four years ago and came in third following Hyde and Alderman Sam Cunningham.
» Click to enlarge image
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Richard Hyde (left) faces a rematch against County Board member Robert Sabonjian and a challenge from Republican Greg Flesher on the April 7 ballot.
This time Sabonjian, whose father, the late Robert Sabonjian, was mayor of Waukegan from 1957 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1989, said he feels his campaign has picked up steam and is a force to be reckoned with.
Hyde, a lifelong Waukegan resident, will be seeking his second full term as mayor. He was appointed acting mayor following the 2002 death of Dan Drew, and won a 2003 special election to fill the remaining two years of Drewâs term.
Hyde said he is running on his record of accomplishments, including downtown revitalization and lakefront clean-up efforts, and that he wants to see those projects through.
Flesher, seeking his first elected office, is a plastering contractor who says the city must adjust its ambitious plans to address the current economic downturn.
Flesher takes city officials to task for being unable to work with U.S. Rep Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, to capitalize on federal funding that had been available for the project, and said he can help âcreate a city where business and industry can succeed and prosper.â
Richard Hyde
Residence: Waukegan.
Date of birth: Nov. 24, 1927.
Years lived in community: 81.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:mayor@ci.waukegan.il.us">mayor@ci.waukegan.il.us</a><!-- e -->.
Occupation: Mayor of Waukegan.
Prior elected experience: None listed.
Leadership positions you have held: None listed.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
To continue the work of the Master Plan that was approved by the City Council August 25, 2003.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
Changing the perception of the City of Waukegan. To get people living on the lakefront and downtown.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
Working with the council has been outstanding.
4. Discuss your top accomplishments to the office over your past term.
Genesee Theatre, Fountain Square, cleaning up the lakefront and getting it ready for development.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
Yes. The City Council pays strict attention to the budget, as do I.
Robert Sabonjian
Residence: Waukegan
Date of birth: July 22, 1955.
Years lived in community: 53.
Campaign Web site: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bob4waukegan.com">www.bob4waukegan.com</a><!-- w -->.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:rsabonjian@aol.com">rsabonjian@aol.com</a><!-- e -->
Occupation: County Board member, media specialist.
Prior elected experience: County Board, 10 years.
Leadership positions you have held: Chair, Community and Economic Development Committee.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
To provide Waukegan with a non-partisan leader that will run the city for the benefit of everyone. As mayor, I will establish a professional caliber of government by bringing in a qualified city administrator to help in my effort to ensure that city government functions smoothly and in a fair and open manner.
I will work to remove any taint of cronyism and nepotism from Waukegan government. I will make sure that the city has an open hiring policy and that there is a career path that will enable all employees to move forward and gain higher pay grades without politics playing any part in that process.
I am interested in working with other bodies of government and local businesses in a constructive and non-confrontational fashion.
As Mayor I want to make sure that the redevelopment of our lakefront is done in a manner that will create long term jobs for the entire community- everyone should profit from that effort.
Waukegan needs leadership that is capable of thinking outside of the box and will seek new solutions to the problems we face.
I want to engage the entire community and make sure their voices are heard in the day to day operations of City government.
The fiscal health of Waukegan must be addressed and brought into a state of long term stability.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
Job creation is the most important issue facing Waukegan residents. The city must be more aggressive and flexible in attracting and retaining businesses. Fountain Square must be developed as soon as the economy permits to create more jobs for our residents and to bring in revenue to city government.
The Genesee Theatre must be open at least three days a week to help create a more vibrant and stable business climate in our downtown.
The lakefront must be developed with a mixed use philosophy. It is capable of hosting residential, non-polluting industrial, recreational and commercial uses. This will ensure job stability beyond the build out phase of the residential component.
I will work to rejuvenate the Mansville property and seek the use of it as a site for wind powered electrical generation.
Our harbor must be dredged and cleaned of PCBs in cooperation with the federal government so that it will be an attractive and healthy environment for future development.
The City must engage in a robust job training effort in order to prepare our community for the opportunities that lie ahead in the construction, green technology and retail sectors. We must partner with the state, the feds, the county and local educators in this effort.
We must address crime and the climate of fear in our neighborhoods brought about by gang activity. I will increase community policing activities by putting more officers on foot and on bike in troubled areas. The same officers will stay in those areas long term so they become acquainted with the residents in a positive fashion and can better identify those that engage in criminal activity.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
The time they wasted on trying to bring a casino to Fountain Square. We lost years of development, we missed strong economic cycles and we were outpaced by communities like Round Lake and McHenry as they developed thriving retail sectors.
We could have had thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in taxes if the city had simply moved forward with developing Fountain Square. Unfortunately, the city leadership kept this casino scheme on the front burner where it kept property at Fountain Square from being put into play over the last six years. That was a tragic mistake. Now we see how the casino effort was bungled and city leadership wasted taxpayer dollars while making this the sole focus of their major economic development efforts in Waukegan. If Waukegan does not get moving quickly to work to bring quality retailers to Fountain Square, then we will be left on the outside looking in once again when Grayslake begins their development efforts on the old Lake County fair property. I am tired of the same old weâll get âem next time attitude of our current leadership in Waukegan.
The only areas of agreement I have with the current Administration is in regard to the efforts to clean up the polluted sites along our lakefront and the effort to develop the Carnegie Library into a museum. These efforts must and will carry on in my administration.
4. Discuss what you would make your top priority.
Again, I will make the attraction of new business and the creation of new, good paying jobs with benefits my number one priority. No community can thrive on dollar stores and discount outlets. Waukegan cannot survive if it loses the industrial and manufacturing base so important to economic stability.
We must create an environment that works in a cooperative fashion with local businesses when they want to expand. We must be flexible in our planning and zoning and be wiling to find ways to compete with Kenosha or any community that is working to attract the types of business development Waukegan might be suitable for. To attract jobs we must work with other bodies of government as well as development experts like The Lake County Partners.
The leadership of Waukegan must be willing to open itself up to outside advice and criticism when warranted. The leadership of the City must shed every vestige of hubris before they can truly guide our community towards a pathway of success.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
No, they have not. Look at the Genesee Theatre â cost overruns, yearly deficits and poorly managed. Look at Fountain Square â eight years and millions wasted on the poorly handled quest for a casino when they could have been developing a major retail facility.
Untold sums wasted on lawsuits against businesses on our lakefront that have a legal right to do business there and will probably sue in return. This misguided effort will cost the city millions in legal fees and penalties.
Money is being wasted on contracts that are not put out to bid in order to attract the most capable as well as the most affordable services.
Millions paid out in wrongful death lawsuits and other civil rights violations.
I question whether the city is prepared to take advantage of the current stimulus package that could leave the city out of important funds for infrastructure projects and economic development.
Leadership has applied Tax Increment Financing to nearly every area of economic development activity in our city thus depriving the local schools as well as City government of badly needed revenue.
One of the best indicators of poor financial management is the bond rating the city is now encumbered with. An A1 Bond rating sounds good, but it can cost our community millions in interest payments when compared to the best rating of AAA that the city must work to attain.
I will work to reduce the debt the city carries and increase the commercial and industrial tax base in our community as soon as possible. This must be done in order to head off economic disaster in Waukegan.
Greg Flesher
Residence: Waukegan.
Date of birth: Dec. 11, 1962
Years lived in community: 17.
Campaign Web site: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.flesherformayor.com">www.flesherformayor.com</a><!-- w -->.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:greg@flesherformayor.com">greg@flesherformayor.com</a><!-- e -->.
Occupation: plastering contractor.
Prior elected experience: none.
Leadership positions you have held: YMCA Camp Jorn Board of Directors, five years. YMCA Camp Jorn Chairman of Buildings & Grounds, four 4 years. Clark Elementary School PTO Chairman of Playground Improvement, 2004. YMCA Indian Guides Tribal Chief 2002-2004.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
I want to create a city where business and industry can succeed and prosper. There are many ambitious plans on the books that must now be adjusted to our current economic conditions, for example, balancing plans for the lakefront to include industry, recreation and future residential development. New business revenue is essential to keep property taxes lower, maintain our aging school buildings, repair roads and bridges, and provide city services.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
The most important issue facing the city is our economic future, the need to keep our existing businesses and industries and attract new ones. Additionally, the current economic downturn is producing a record number of foreclosures throughout the city that must be sold, repaired and made livable for our citizens.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
I disagree with city governmentâs inability to work with Mark Kirk to effectively and efficiently clean up our harbor. Harbor revitalization would have had a positive effect on downtown redevelopment and other city business growth. I agree with the development of Fountain Square. This area has become an important sales tax revenue generator.
4. Discuss what you would make your top priority.
Our top priority will be keeping businesses currently located in the city and attracting new ones during the economic downturn. An equally important goal will be to create a city where all citizens feel that they have a voice, regardless of background or nationality.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
The costs of renovating the Genesee Theatre and the time and effort used to attract a casino have been the easiest targets for mismanagement, but they are not the only times the city has not used our funds wisely. Lawsuits involving controversial decisions such as 287G, the towing ordinance, and other governmental policies have absorbed revenue that could have been used to repair roads and maintain schools.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/election/1479405,waukegan-mayoral-candidates-031809.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 09.article</a><!-- m -->
Hyde sure doesn't offer much.
Some one posted in another thread that like he is more of a follower than a leader.
Apparently there is some truth in that.
Read on.
March 18, 2009
NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT
WAUKEGAN â Incumbent Democratic Mayor Richard Hyde faces a rematch against County Board member Robert Sabonjian and a challenge from Republican Greg Flesher on the April 7 ballot.
Sabonjian, a 10-year veteran of the County Board who is running as an independent, ran for mayor four years ago and came in third following Hyde and Alderman Sam Cunningham.
» Click to enlarge image
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Richard Hyde (left) faces a rematch against County Board member Robert Sabonjian and a challenge from Republican Greg Flesher on the April 7 ballot.
This time Sabonjian, whose father, the late Robert Sabonjian, was mayor of Waukegan from 1957 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1989, said he feels his campaign has picked up steam and is a force to be reckoned with.
Hyde, a lifelong Waukegan resident, will be seeking his second full term as mayor. He was appointed acting mayor following the 2002 death of Dan Drew, and won a 2003 special election to fill the remaining two years of Drewâs term.
Hyde said he is running on his record of accomplishments, including downtown revitalization and lakefront clean-up efforts, and that he wants to see those projects through.
Flesher, seeking his first elected office, is a plastering contractor who says the city must adjust its ambitious plans to address the current economic downturn.
Flesher takes city officials to task for being unable to work with U.S. Rep Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, to capitalize on federal funding that had been available for the project, and said he can help âcreate a city where business and industry can succeed and prosper.â
Richard Hyde
Residence: Waukegan.
Date of birth: Nov. 24, 1927.
Years lived in community: 81.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:mayor@ci.waukegan.il.us">mayor@ci.waukegan.il.us</a><!-- e -->.
Occupation: Mayor of Waukegan.
Prior elected experience: None listed.
Leadership positions you have held: None listed.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
To continue the work of the Master Plan that was approved by the City Council August 25, 2003.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
Changing the perception of the City of Waukegan. To get people living on the lakefront and downtown.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
Working with the council has been outstanding.
4. Discuss your top accomplishments to the office over your past term.
Genesee Theatre, Fountain Square, cleaning up the lakefront and getting it ready for development.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
Yes. The City Council pays strict attention to the budget, as do I.
Robert Sabonjian
Residence: Waukegan
Date of birth: July 22, 1955.
Years lived in community: 53.
Campaign Web site: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bob4waukegan.com">www.bob4waukegan.com</a><!-- w -->.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:rsabonjian@aol.com">rsabonjian@aol.com</a><!-- e -->
Occupation: County Board member, media specialist.
Prior elected experience: County Board, 10 years.
Leadership positions you have held: Chair, Community and Economic Development Committee.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
To provide Waukegan with a non-partisan leader that will run the city for the benefit of everyone. As mayor, I will establish a professional caliber of government by bringing in a qualified city administrator to help in my effort to ensure that city government functions smoothly and in a fair and open manner.
I will work to remove any taint of cronyism and nepotism from Waukegan government. I will make sure that the city has an open hiring policy and that there is a career path that will enable all employees to move forward and gain higher pay grades without politics playing any part in that process.
I am interested in working with other bodies of government and local businesses in a constructive and non-confrontational fashion.
As Mayor I want to make sure that the redevelopment of our lakefront is done in a manner that will create long term jobs for the entire community- everyone should profit from that effort.
Waukegan needs leadership that is capable of thinking outside of the box and will seek new solutions to the problems we face.
I want to engage the entire community and make sure their voices are heard in the day to day operations of City government.
The fiscal health of Waukegan must be addressed and brought into a state of long term stability.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
Job creation is the most important issue facing Waukegan residents. The city must be more aggressive and flexible in attracting and retaining businesses. Fountain Square must be developed as soon as the economy permits to create more jobs for our residents and to bring in revenue to city government.
The Genesee Theatre must be open at least three days a week to help create a more vibrant and stable business climate in our downtown.
The lakefront must be developed with a mixed use philosophy. It is capable of hosting residential, non-polluting industrial, recreational and commercial uses. This will ensure job stability beyond the build out phase of the residential component.
I will work to rejuvenate the Mansville property and seek the use of it as a site for wind powered electrical generation.
Our harbor must be dredged and cleaned of PCBs in cooperation with the federal government so that it will be an attractive and healthy environment for future development.
The City must engage in a robust job training effort in order to prepare our community for the opportunities that lie ahead in the construction, green technology and retail sectors. We must partner with the state, the feds, the county and local educators in this effort.
We must address crime and the climate of fear in our neighborhoods brought about by gang activity. I will increase community policing activities by putting more officers on foot and on bike in troubled areas. The same officers will stay in those areas long term so they become acquainted with the residents in a positive fashion and can better identify those that engage in criminal activity.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
The time they wasted on trying to bring a casino to Fountain Square. We lost years of development, we missed strong economic cycles and we were outpaced by communities like Round Lake and McHenry as they developed thriving retail sectors.
We could have had thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in taxes if the city had simply moved forward with developing Fountain Square. Unfortunately, the city leadership kept this casino scheme on the front burner where it kept property at Fountain Square from being put into play over the last six years. That was a tragic mistake. Now we see how the casino effort was bungled and city leadership wasted taxpayer dollars while making this the sole focus of their major economic development efforts in Waukegan. If Waukegan does not get moving quickly to work to bring quality retailers to Fountain Square, then we will be left on the outside looking in once again when Grayslake begins their development efforts on the old Lake County fair property. I am tired of the same old weâll get âem next time attitude of our current leadership in Waukegan.
The only areas of agreement I have with the current Administration is in regard to the efforts to clean up the polluted sites along our lakefront and the effort to develop the Carnegie Library into a museum. These efforts must and will carry on in my administration.
4. Discuss what you would make your top priority.
Again, I will make the attraction of new business and the creation of new, good paying jobs with benefits my number one priority. No community can thrive on dollar stores and discount outlets. Waukegan cannot survive if it loses the industrial and manufacturing base so important to economic stability.
We must create an environment that works in a cooperative fashion with local businesses when they want to expand. We must be flexible in our planning and zoning and be wiling to find ways to compete with Kenosha or any community that is working to attract the types of business development Waukegan might be suitable for. To attract jobs we must work with other bodies of government as well as development experts like The Lake County Partners.
The leadership of Waukegan must be willing to open itself up to outside advice and criticism when warranted. The leadership of the City must shed every vestige of hubris before they can truly guide our community towards a pathway of success.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
No, they have not. Look at the Genesee Theatre â cost overruns, yearly deficits and poorly managed. Look at Fountain Square â eight years and millions wasted on the poorly handled quest for a casino when they could have been developing a major retail facility.
Untold sums wasted on lawsuits against businesses on our lakefront that have a legal right to do business there and will probably sue in return. This misguided effort will cost the city millions in legal fees and penalties.
Money is being wasted on contracts that are not put out to bid in order to attract the most capable as well as the most affordable services.
Millions paid out in wrongful death lawsuits and other civil rights violations.
I question whether the city is prepared to take advantage of the current stimulus package that could leave the city out of important funds for infrastructure projects and economic development.
Leadership has applied Tax Increment Financing to nearly every area of economic development activity in our city thus depriving the local schools as well as City government of badly needed revenue.
One of the best indicators of poor financial management is the bond rating the city is now encumbered with. An A1 Bond rating sounds good, but it can cost our community millions in interest payments when compared to the best rating of AAA that the city must work to attain.
I will work to reduce the debt the city carries and increase the commercial and industrial tax base in our community as soon as possible. This must be done in order to head off economic disaster in Waukegan.
Greg Flesher
Residence: Waukegan.
Date of birth: Dec. 11, 1962
Years lived in community: 17.
Campaign Web site: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.flesherformayor.com">www.flesherformayor.com</a><!-- w -->.
E-mail: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:greg@flesherformayor.com">greg@flesherformayor.com</a><!-- e -->.
Occupation: plastering contractor.
Prior elected experience: none.
Leadership positions you have held: YMCA Camp Jorn Board of Directors, five years. YMCA Camp Jorn Chairman of Buildings & Grounds, four 4 years. Clark Elementary School PTO Chairman of Playground Improvement, 2004. YMCA Indian Guides Tribal Chief 2002-2004.
1. Why are you running for the office you seek?
I want to create a city where business and industry can succeed and prosper. There are many ambitious plans on the books that must now be adjusted to our current economic conditions, for example, balancing plans for the lakefront to include industry, recreation and future residential development. New business revenue is essential to keep property taxes lower, maintain our aging school buildings, repair roads and bridges, and provide city services.
2. What issues are most important to your race and why?
The most important issue facing the city is our economic future, the need to keep our existing businesses and industries and attract new ones. Additionally, the current economic downturn is producing a record number of foreclosures throughout the city that must be sold, repaired and made livable for our citizens.
3. What decisions made by this elected body did you most disagree with in its last term? Agree with? Why?
I disagree with city governmentâs inability to work with Mark Kirk to effectively and efficiently clean up our harbor. Harbor revitalization would have had a positive effect on downtown redevelopment and other city business growth. I agree with the development of Fountain Square. This area has become an important sales tax revenue generator.
4. Discuss what you would make your top priority.
Our top priority will be keeping businesses currently located in the city and attracting new ones during the economic downturn. An equally important goal will be to create a city where all citizens feel that they have a voice, regardless of background or nationality.
5. Has your community been fiscally responsible when it comes to spending taxpayer money? Why or why not?
The costs of renovating the Genesee Theatre and the time and effort used to attract a casino have been the easiest targets for mismanagement, but they are not the only times the city has not used our funds wisely. Lawsuits involving controversial decisions such as 287G, the towing ordinance, and other governmental policies have absorbed revenue that could have been used to repair roads and maintain schools.