Debra Berthelot: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Hanover ParkWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hanover Park parksAge: 57Family: Married, 2 daughtersOccupation: Office Admin/Billing/Customer ServiceEducation: Conant High School, Hoffman Estates, ILHarper College, Palatine, ILElgin Community College, Elgin, ILCivic involvement: Hanover Park FoundationElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Fiscal Responsibility - Managing our resources and getting the best park district for our taxpaying residents. I will work hard to use our resources wisely and provide the best programs and recreational areas for our children and adults.Key Issue 2 Maintaining Improving our Outdoor Recreational Parks Playgrounds - We have some wonderful outdoor parks with bike paths and picnic areas that are used by both children and adults. I would like to continue to maintain those parks and also work to improve and enhance the areas both visually and with additional bike paths and picnic areas.Key Issue 3 Actively Promoting the Hanover Park Park District - Our mayor is working to make Hanover Park a village that is known for being ""family-friendly"" and what better benefit to families than an active and growing park district.Questions Answers What programs aren#146;t paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?I'd like to withhold comment on suggesting any changes to existing programs until I'm elected - IF I should be so lucky! I really want to work with other board members, learn the ropes and dig into our budget to see what is and isn't benefiting our park district and residents. I think there may be some programs we should look into adding such as traveling soccer for adults.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.I'd like to look into the area around the DuPage River to see if part of that space could be used for picnic areas or bike paths.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?I would definitely like to see as many programs and playgrounds and recreational areas incorporated into our park district as we can afford. We have Seafari Springs and the Centre Court Athletic Club but maybe another pool on the north end of town would be a consideration. I would love to see our park district try some new ideas to attract our teens. As far as paying for anything new, I need to see our budget and start to work with other board members on raising interest and support.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?The Village of Hanover Park and the Hanover Park Park District are separate entities but maybe its time to consider combining some resources and ideas to save money specifically for the purpose of doing what's best for the residents of Hanover Park.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.I'm a 33 year resident of Hanover Park but I'm a newcomer to politics. I've been very active in my local church with woman's groups and the vocal team but never involved in politics. Now that my daughters are grown and moved out of the area, both my husband and I want to work to give back to the village where we've lived and raised our family. I want to offer my time and talents to our Park District. I have been enjoying my local park and bike path for walking and jogging for as long as I've lived here and I want to make sure our village continues to promote the outdoor areas. I feel I have much to offer. What I lack in experience, I will make up in hard work, honesty and integrity. I want to work to make Hanover Park an even better place to work and raise families and I love the idea of promoting our village with an attractive, active and growing park district!