Nick Provenzano: 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: McHenryWebsite: www.NickProvenzano.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County Board District 3 Age: 54Family: I am a 25 year resident of McHenry County. I and my wife, Bridgett, have three children: Kelly a recent grad of Lewis University, Ryan attends McHenry County College and Sam attends Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock. We attend St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Johnsburg.Occupation: County Board Member and the Senior District Representative for Cong. Randy HultgrenEducation: I graduated from DeVry University with formal training in electronics, computer technology and business management.Civic involvement: I have served as a Member of the McHenry County Board since 2002 and currently serve on the Finance, Transportation, and Legislative Committees. I served as Field Director for Congressman Randy Hultgren's successful reelection campaign in 2012 and 2014. I also serve on the Board of Directors for the McHenry County Catholic Prayer Breakfast. A Fourth Degree in the Knights of Columbus. I was one of the founding board members of the McHenry County Right to Carry Association and a member of the McHenry County Sportsmen's AssociationElected offices held: Nunda Township TrusteeMcHenry County Board MemberQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?I will continue to be the voice of taxpayers who are demanding lower taxes and smaller, less intrusive government. I've taken an aggressive, articulate and effective stand on behalf of taxpayers who are fed up with being over taxed and over regulated. The old motto "due more with less" doesn't work anymore. It's time government "does less with less". I'm running for re-election with the promise that I will fight every day to ensure we are limiting the size of government spending every dollar wisely while ensuring a safe, enjoyable community to live, work and raise a family.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?I successfully led the fight to freeze County taxes for three years in a row and led the effort to CUT the County taxes by $3 million for 2016. All together that's more than $14 million in tax relief through experienced, proven leadership working for the taxpayers of McHenry County. I voted against pay raises for all government employees, ushered in the first ever ethics ordinance, and supported the Whistle Blower Ordinance to help root out corruption. I led the effort to have direct elections of the County Board Chairman and live streaming of County meetings on the internet.Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them. In particular in the suburbs, President Preckwinkle has set a goal of eliminating unincorporated areas from county oversight. Do you agree with this approach? If so, how should the county go about it?The County financial balance is in peril which led me to demand a full review of all programs, services and expenditures to identify what is statutorily required and what is "desirable". Main threats are unsustainable, growing employee expenses; mounting facility maintenance capacity needs; unfunded mandates cuts in federal state revenues.Solutions: prevailing wage, workman's comp collective bargaining reform, preventative building maintenance and effective use of the Master Campus Plan for long-term fiscally responsible capacity planning and aggressive economic development.No, dialogue with municipalities through MCCOG to ensure contiguous growth responsible annexation can minimize this risk.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.Government must be held to the highest level of transparency and accountability. Online information access has helped. Resistance to open and transparent government by some remains. All information with very limited exceptions should be accessible that's why I fought to unseal county audits revealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in misappropriation by a few employees. Through my steadfast efforts the sealed audits were finally released to the public. I fought to centralize every county check book forcing greater transparency of taxpayer dollars, ushered in the first ever ethics ordinance, a Whistle Blower Ordinance, and direct elections for County Board Chairman.Please list any elected office you have ever run for and what the result of that election was. Have you ever been appointed to fill an unexpired term?I ran unsuccessfully for Nunda Township Trustee but was appointed to fill an unexpired term. I ran for County Board several times and have served since 2002 (lost a county board race in 2008 and was off the board for two years and have served on the board since then). In 2014 I made an unsuccessful run for County Clerk.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Economic development and transportation are also priorities. Another way to reduce residential property taxes is by broadening the tax base through the attraction of large employers. In addition to the tax shift, new jobs will allow more of our residents to avoid traveling out of the county for employment. Attracting well-paying primary jobs that flow new capital into the county creates ripples of economic benefit, improves quality of life and lessens the burden on residential property taxpayers. Infrastructure improvements such as direct access to an interstate, freight rail improvements and a skilled workforce are major factors in attracting new companies.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Congressman Randy Hultgren inspires me as one who's been able to lead effectively while keeping his family and faith a priority in his life.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?My Father lifted me to view and reach a horizon beyond his reach so that one day I could do the same for my children.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?The correct lottery numbersWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?World History helped me better understand the world, how to get along with others and how not to repeat the mistakes of history.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Don't let the fear of criticism impede your desire to serve your fellow man and to work for a cause greater than themselves.