Laura Czarnecki: 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: Carol StreamWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Carol Stream Village clerk Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: My high school sweetheart, Paul, is my husband of 20 years. Paul has been a mechanic at Village of Villa Park for the past 24 years. He is a member of CPA and CERT. We have two wonderful children. Matt is 18, works for Carol Stream Park District and just started working at Glendale Nissan. He is a member of CPA and CERT and formerly a member of CS Youth Council. Kaitlyn is 15 and currently attending Community High School. She currently is a member of the CS Youth Council and CERT. She will be attending CPA starting this month.Occupation: StenographerEducation: I achieved an Associate's in Applied Sciences from Triton College for court reporting in 1994. I have my Illinois Department of Professional Regulation licensure for court reporting, which requires continuing education every two years for renewal. I have been a notary public since 1994.Civic involvement: Since 2011 I have been volunteering with Brittany's Trees, a CS organization. The past three years I have been active in CS Park District's events such as Just Play, Christmas Sharing, Zombie Apocalypse, Boo Fest and the village's Christmas Sharing program. I am a member of the Citizen's Police Academy and have volunteered for the police department with roadside safety checks and training sessions with the officers. As of December 2014, I am a member of the Community Emergency Response Team for CS and have participated in their mock disaster preparedness training.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers Some communities have contracted out for certain services, such as snowplowing, to save money. What innovative methods would you proposed to reduce your office's budget? Explain your answer.Due to the nature of the clerk's office, I would want to keep duties in-house and under control of our village. Consistent with the continuing efforts the village maintains streamlining every department, I would like to review the procedures of the clerk's office to ensure it is following suit.The state's Freedom of Information Act guidelines emphasize providing citizens open access to government. Name one specific step you would take if elected to increase government transparency in your office?It is my opinion that our village is already open and transparent to our residents, but I also think there is always room for ways to improve transparency. Having a better presence on our village web site would be one of the ways I propose we can improve resident access.Do you believe the village clerk should be an elected or appointed position? Please explain your answer.The village clerk, just like the village board, answers to all of the residents. With the responsibility to ensure the entire village board is open and transparent, I personally believe it is important that residents choose our village clerk; and, therefore, the village clerk should continue to be an elected position.What steps would you take as village clerk to improve and increase the flow of information to residents?With current technology, smart phones, email, and the internet, I would like to investigate ways the clerk's office can get information out in a clear, consistent pattern. Being new to this position, I would first consult with staff to learn exactly what the clerk does now and then look for ways to improve upon it.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.After being "team Mom' on various sports teams with my children, I knew I wanted to become more involved. In 2011 I was introduced to Brittany's Trees, which sets up 1500 Christmas trees to raise money for the SADS Foundation. It brought tears to my eyes seeing the multitude of CS residents come together and work tirelessly to accomplish a goal. Presently I volunteer for the CS Park District at various events, including Just Play, Zombie Apocalypse, Boo Fest, Scare Fest and also for the village at Christmas Sharing. CS has wonderful people who work for the village. Many of my friendships have been created while volunteering, attending the Summer Concert events, and participating in the CPA and Cert programs. Through all this involvement with the people who live in, work for and volunteer for CS I have a desire to give back to the community. I feel my skill set as a stenographer would benefit my ability to carry out the role of village clerk. I have been taking down the spoken word for 21 years in a verbatim setting. I have the responsibility to make sure legal proceedings are accurately recorded and run smoothly. I am required to keep records, provide information and deal with all sides of an issue. The clerk's office does the same for our community. Also, I am a notary public and have been for the last 21 years. Being self-employed gives me the flexibility to be available to notarize documents when needed.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Transparency and open government will always be an important issue. Ensuring our residents are informed and have access to needed information helps make a community stronger. I believe if I am elected clerk I will continue our history of a strong and open elected government.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I am inspired not by one leader but by people who protect us, teachers who help mold our next generation and people who give back.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Always to be honest and be true to myself, be proud of who I am and never try to be something I am not.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend more time with my father before he passed away. We need to remember to take time for the people in our lives.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English/Grammar has been my forte from 3rd grade through honors English in HS and has been the backbone of my career in producing transcripts.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?I would tell them to get involved, help others and help shape the world you will someday have the ultimate responsibility for.