Mark Davoust: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: St. CharlesWebsite: MarkDavoust.comOffice sought: Kane County Clerk Age: 54Family: Happily married to wife, Melody, for over 32 years. One son, Brian, (wife Sherry), and 4 grandchildren: Breegan, age 8, Brian, Jr., age 8, Braelyn, age 8, and Brighton, age 6.Occupation: Vice President, Brasel Products, Inc.Education: First graduating class of Naperville North High School in 1977Waubonsee Community CollegeWestern Illinois UniversityAurora UniversityCivic involvement: Coached youth baseball and soccer; Served on the Batavia Chamber of Commerce Board; Chairman of Bridge and Parking Committee of the Batavia Downtown Task Force; Board of Directors of Kane County Bar Foundation.Elected offices held: St. Charles Precinct Committeeman, Precinct 8; currently serving on the Kane County Board and Kane County Forest Preserve, District 14.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No, never.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is that?Any office that remains under the same leadership for a long period of time runs the risk of becoming entrenched in current practices. The Clerk's office must strive to be at the cutting edge of technology and service-providing procedures. On a personal level, the Clerk's function in running elections is of particular interest, having been involved in the election process. We must pursue improvement in voter registration and voter turnout continuously, not just for a few months with each campaign cycle.What differentiates you most from your opponents in the race?I bring a fresh perspective and new energy to the office of Clerk. My experience combines private-sector survival and success with the challenges of a policy-setting responsibility in public service. This better prepares me to help move the office forward to meet the demands of a deserving public.Do you intend to honor the new same sex marriage law in your role as clerk? How do you plan to implement the new law? Are there any challenges the new law presents?It is the duty of the Clerk to follow the law of the State of Illinois. Implementation would be handled as any vital record procedure would demand. The challenge, as always, will be to provide the service in a prompt, courteous, and efficient manner. This will assure that the public receives the value they deserve with as little tax burden as possible.Should Aurora continue to have its own election commission, or should the Kane County Clerk's office handle those duties?I believe that the best interest of the taxpayer will be served by having a single authority handling election results. To achieve this, a cooperative effort will be needed and a new level of trust achieved to assure a seamless transition for all voters.Waiting lines at polling places have been an issue in some precincts. What is your plan to reduce the time it takes to cast a ballot?There are a number of things that must happen to improve the voting experience. We need to follow the law regarding the maximum size reached by any Precinct before it must be split. I would work with my colleagues from the County Board to identify the best possible locations to be used as polling places and then pursue long-term commitments to those locations. I would seek the advice of Kane County's outstanding IT department on the best available technology for both hardware and software applications. I would institute a multi-year budgeting approach to make sure that we are prepared to obtain the identified technology and the training and support that will be needed to make it useful.Finally, is there anything we haven't asked about that you feel we should know?To achieve better levels of participation in elections, we must not rely on simply being reactive to problems. We must be proactive. That will take an effort that goes well beyond a few months of 'banner waving' each time an election comes around. There will be a continuous message coming from the Clerk's office in the future. Only then will we begin to reverse the tide of apathy that has plagued us for too long now.