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Kevin Mathews: Candidate Profile

Aurora City Council Ward 5

Back to Aurora City Council Ward 5

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: AuroraWebsite: ElectKev.comOffice sought: Aurora City Council Ward 5 Age: 51Family: NAOccupation: ConsultantEducation: AAS Waubonsee Community College BS Northern Illinois University - FinanceCivic involvement: Taxpayer Watchdog Martial arts instructor Fox Valley Park District - MooseheartElected offices held: Former Board of Directors: NAFEXQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?A combination of professional experience, insight, long term vision, and knowledge of the city's history, the Constitution, and the proper role of government. I am the only candidate in this race with a 14 year documented record who has consistently spoken about taxation and the proper role of government in the citizen's life. My experience as an entrepreneur and business consultant allows me to detect legitimate business development need from handouts. The proper role for the government in business is to build the infrastructure, both physical and administrative, that is conducive to business. However, it is important to avoid crony capitalism and Aurora reeks of it. Only a few years ago, we had an Alderman jailed for accepting bribes. You are naÃmacr;ve if you think these are isolated episodes and not a systemic problem in the city as a whole. Equally important is the knowledge of the proper role of government in people's lives. Too many in this city are looking to use the coercive arm of government to deprive others of the just fruits of their labor for their own benefit; too many are willing to impose their standards on the actions of others who simply differ in how they define the pursuit of happiness. In the end, the relevant question is do you want the 5th Ward to have an independent voice who is beholden to no one other than the taxpayers of this community? If so vote for me, Kevin Mathews, The Taxpayer's Watchdog.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Aurora's property taxes and sales taxes are too high relative to surrounding communities. Aurora has the highest property tax rate of the surrounding communities with Aurora at 2.8%, Naperville at 2.1 %, Batavia 2.3% and Geneva at 2.3%. Moreover Aurora's ratio between median income and median home price is 89% meaning the citizens of Aurora have little disposable income after accounting for housing, and our debt per person is the highest of any surrounding community. This is one of the reasons it is hard to attract retail concepts to Aurora. Aurora is not competitive with the surrounding communities on a tax basis for casual dining. It is just as convenient for a west side resident to travel south or north to other communities to dine as it is to traverse the width of the city to dine. Given the sales tax differential, leaving the community for purchases and consumption is a very attractive alternative. It is important to realize we now live in a globalized and very mobile world and business accrues to the lowest cost provider at a given standard of quality. As a result Aurora needs to look to reducing expenditures in the long term so it can compete with surroundings communities on sales tax basis for its citizen's expenditures. Additionally the relative high sales tax has a disproportionate effect on lower income individuals who tend to spend a greater proportion of their income on fast foods; this represents an extremely regressive tax that penalizes the working poor.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?Public safety is a primary duty of a municipal government. I believe Aurora's balance of resources between the police department and fire department is out of balance and more resources should be dedicated to law enforcement. The upper structure of the Fire Department is ripe for consolidation. We should consider privatizing Fire Protection services as other communities have done. Savings should be shifted to Law Enforcement. Community Oriented Police has proven effective and I am proponent of these programs. There is a very beneficial effect on the localized area to have police officers reside in the community and the city should consider incentivizing officers to reside in the city, and in particular, in less desirable areas. I believe we should look at introducing more canine units into the city, as their value is proven. They are a relatively cost effective way to increase the safety of officers and their effectiveness. We need more technological empowerment of officers to allow them to complete reporting in a timely and ultimately cost effective manner and free them of the tedium of relentless paperwork. For example, voice recognition software would allow officers to dictate reports rather than manually input data. On public safety, we need to re-examine our set-backs at intersections and make sure that vehicles have a clear view of the intersection when SUVs occupy parking spots. In the Aurora University area we need to make sure there is enough clearance between parked cars to allow the uninhibited passage of emergency vehicles.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?With 7,000 bodies of government, Illinois leads the nation for the number of taxing entities. Because of the large number of taxing bodies there is a great deal of overlap that can eliminated. Townships only have 3 primary duties, one of which is: General Assistance (welfare) to low-income individuals for their basic needs. That is a primary duty of the Township, a separate taxing entity, but the city also provides assistance in a multitude of areas. In addition the city is involved in several early childhood initiatives, under the auspice of preparing children for school. Such initiatives should come under the budget of the school districts so they can be held accountable to the taxpayers. The City of Aurora engineered a deliberate circumvention of statutory law to allow the city to buy library cards for low income people living outside the city of Aurora in cooperation with the Township. The net effect is you pay both township taxes and City of Aurora taxes which are used to pay for city of Aurora library access for the poor. Such intergovernmental cooperative allows the taxing bodies to effectively double tax those who fiscally contribute to society and allow the taxing bodies to obscure how much you really are paying for general assistance. Additionally we have the Fox Valley Park District, a taxing body. And yet we also have our own City Parks division. This results in duplication of services and these entities should be consolidated under one budget.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Aurora needs to seize the future and take advantage of the convergence of two demographic trends. 1) Our growing, endemic Hispanic population 2) Capitalize on the aging baby boomer population Over the next 30 years the largest demographic shift will be as a result of the aging of the baby boomers. For Aurora this opens up unparalleled possibilities. By planning now, adjusting our housing ordinances and standards we can pave the way for a future as a premier destination for active lifestyle and senior communities. This is extremely important, because on the whole seniors consume far less in social services than other demographic groups and have at least a minimal inflation adjusted income base. Aurora is uniquely positioned to seize the initiative because we have a ready supply low wage companion labor from South American countries that normally revere the elderly. However we have to be cognizant of our zoning laws and make sure we readily provide avenues for live-in and around the clock domestic help without creating an undue burden on the homeowner. Moreover it allows us to transform deprecated areas of our community into viable senior living communities. In addition, since District 131 residents have been reluctant to vote for increased property taxes for the schools, repurposing those communities would ease the strain on the schools and provide more property taxes per pupil while allowing the seniors to enjoy an overall lower property tax burden when compared to surrounding communities.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The 5th Ward is truly one of crown jewels of Aurora, Illinois. The 5th Ward has a superior median income to median home price than Aurora as a whole allowing for more disposal income, a demographic that that is very appealing to retail developers. By marketing the 5th Ward separately from Aurora as whole, we have greater chance of attracting retail development that may allow Aurora to retain more of the sales tax dollars of our citizens that are currently being spent in surrounding communities. In addition there are some elements of law enforcement that require strict attention. I intend to invigorate the community to cooperate with the police to insure safe neighborhoods and to keep the 5th Ward among the most desirable areas of Aurora. I believe that a successful Republic requires active citizen participants holding their elected officials accountable for their actions. In addition, a successful community requires actual community involvement. As Alderman of the 5th Ward I intend to establish community organizations modeled on, and with the assistance and guidance of the very successful West Park Neighbors organization. As Alderman I will work to create an informed citizenry that is keenly aware of and active in a participating in their own governance. I will fight for the taxpayers of this community and defend against the tyranny of the majority. Lastly, I will work to establish a tradition of aldermanic independence in the 5th Ward, so the office remains fair and impartial.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Scott Walker - he understands the coercive hand of government is detrimental to the freedom of the general populace.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?A man who yields his principles is not a man at all.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would tell my father I loved him more often. And I would have told Sr. Loretta(Holy Angels) how much she meant to me.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Finance - it allowed me to plot a course to financial stability at a relatively moderate age.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?There are few obstacle that cannot be overcome by preparation and persistence.