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Martin Tully: Candidate Profile

DuPage County board District 3 (Republican)

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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: Downers GroveWebsite: www.martintully.comTwitter: @MayorTullyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tully4DuPage/Office sought: DuPage County board District 3 Age: 52Family: I have been married to my wife, Shanon, for almost 30 years. We have two terrific sons, Martin, Jr. and Ryan.Occupation: AttorneyEducation: Ã#130;circ;yen; DePaul University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1990 Ã#130;circ;yen; University of Illinois at Chicago, B.A., Political Science, 1987 Ã#130;circ;yen; Downers Grove North High School, graduate, 1983Civic involvement: Ã#130;circ;yen; Past President, DuPage Mayors Managers Conference Ã#130;circ;yen; Municipal Member, DuPage County Stormwater Management Committee Ã#130;circ;yen; Board Secretary, DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU-COMM) Ã#130;circ;yen; Member, DuPage County Public Health Department Mosquito Abatement Taskforce Ã#130;circ;yen; Board Member, Metropolitan Mayors' Caucus Ã#130;circ;yen; Director, Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation Ã#130;circ;yen; Ex-officio Director, Chamber 630 Chamber of Commerce Ã#130;circ;yen; Director, The Hundred Club of DuPage County Ã#130;circ;yen; Board Member, Hope's Front Door Ã#130;circ;yen; Member, Downers Grove Lions Club Ã#130;circ;yen; Member, Friends of the Edwards House Ã#130;circ;yen; Founding Member, Grade School District 58 Education Foundation Ã#130;circ;yen; Board Member, DePaul Center for Public Interest LawElected offices held: Ã#130;circ;yen; Mayor of the Village of Downers Grove, 2011 to present Ã#130;circ;yen; Commissioner, Downers Grove Village Council, 2001-2009 Ã#130;circ;yen; Precinct Committeeman, Downers Grove Township Republican OrganizationQuestions 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?It has been a privilege to serve two terms as the Mayor of Downers Grove and I am very proud of what the community has accomplished during that time. We've achieved and maintained a AAA bond rating, annually balanced budgets, a CALEA certified Ãâ#128;™excellentÃâ#128;œ police department, an ISO Class 1 rated fire department, multiple green fleet and government finance awards, and numerous economic development successes, to name a few, and all without increasing property taxes for municipal operations for seven years running. But due to local term limits, I cannot run for another term as mayor. Yet, I know I have more to give back to the community, and I would like to continue to serve the residents of the area and share these strategies for success with the citizens of District 3, and the County overall. In this regard, the residents of District 3 deserve experienced representation on the County Board from a proven local leader with a strong track record of integrity, transparency, accessibility, and getting results.What is your stance on county board members' pay? Too high, too low, just right? Would you propose any changes?To properly fulfill the role of County board member, much less to elevate it, takes a considerable amount of time, effort, and hard work. I know first-hand what that level of commitment entails, having been the leader of a community of nearly 50,000 residents, and I have experienced how the requisite dedication often competes with one's full time job. District 3 covers a much larger area and constituency than any municipality, so my initial view is that current county board member compensation is probably about right. That said, I am certainly open to reviewing the issue once in office to see if either the pay afforded or the commitment required need to be adjusted to better fit the role and the expectations of our constituents. I do not believe that County board members should have publicly funded pensions or benefits available to them. This role is about public service, not a career path or a retirement plan.With DuPage County's budget being squeezed by the state funding reductions, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?Now, more than ever, local governments must figure out how to live within their means. Taxpayers simply cannot be expected to endlessly fund a growing list of wants and rising expenses. Instead, all reasonable efforts to reduce costs should first be exhausted and ruled out before even considering new revenue options, especially when there is usually a creative opportunity to do more with less. In my municipal experience, we have been successful at holding the line (or even reducing) costs by leveraging a combination of lean practices, innovation, technology, collaboration and consolidation, and employing public-private partnerships. And we've shown that this can be done without sacrificing key public services, or jeopardizing public safety. Of course, enhancements to revenue can be achieved by growing the tax base, not the tax rate, through intensely pursuing a robust economic development program. Keeping our County highly attractive to new businesses and commerce, as well as retaining those we already have, should continue to be a top priority. I also support continued vigilance and advocacy by the County to try to keep Springfield from undermining local control, depleting the County's share of state revenues, and imposing further unfunded mandates.What are your thoughts about the county's Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency Initiative? What role should DuPage play in efforts to streamline and consolidate local government?In appropriate circumstances, the consolidation of government units or services can be an effective mechanism for maintaining or enhancing public services while controlling or reducing the costs of their delivery. It can also have the benefit of streamlining the number and scope of public bodies, significantly reducing complexity and bureaucracy. However, consolidation should not be done simply for its own sake, but where it makes demonstrable sense and is supported by the entities sought to be combined. Thus, consolidation should come from the bottom up, from those most immediately affected, not forced upon them from the top down. The County's ACT Initiative has played, and should continue to play, an important leadership role in identifying opportunities for consolidation, educating residents on the impact and merits of consolidation proposals, and assisting those seeking to combine government units with navigating and overcoming legislative and other barriers to sensible consolidation.What initiatives, if any, do you have in mind for your specific county board district?As a threshold matter, any initiative worth pursuing in District 3 would be one that the residents of the whole County should benefit from. If elected, some initiatives I would suggest to my colleagues on the County Board include: 1.Further empowering and facilitating the Sheriff's and Coroner's offices efforts to develop and pursue a multi-tiered, multi-prong solution to the opioid scourge in our county. 2.Beyond consolidation efforts, the County should identify and explore additional opportunities for collaboration with other governmental bodies, as well as private and not-for-profit entities. A number of municipalities have successfully employed such innovative partnerships to streamline the delivery of public services. This concept, known in the private sector as Ãâ#128;™collaborative disaggregation,Ãâ#128;œ involves increasingly turning to alternative service providers to handle the core components of mission critical matters on a more cost-effective basis. 3.Create more opportunities for citizens of DuPage County to get involved and actively participate in their county government by creating several committees of appointed volunteers who could serve as community sounding boards and advisory bodies on matters as senior services, animal control, environmental issues, bikeway paths and trails, etc. Meeting sites would rotate throughout the County in order to bring the business of the county to the doorstep of its constituents. 4.Working with the state, as needed, to develop a Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-Off Abatement Program, giving property owners 60 or older the opportunity to volunteer services to the County in exchange for a reduction in the County portion of their property tax.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Everyone agrees that transparency and accountability are critical aspects of responsible local government. Evolving technology has made it possible like never before to make massive amounts of information available to interested county residents in multiple methods and mediums. But, as Arthur C. Clarke famously remarked, Ãâ#128;™information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all.Ãâ#128;œ Therefore, it should be incumbent upon local government to also provide the means by which its constituents can better digest and understand the growing quantities of raw information about the function of their county government and elected officials in order to truly see what they do and hold them accountable for acting responsibly. One way in which to empower the electorate's understanding is through a series of Ãâ#128;™short formÃâ#128;œ format videos that highlight key aspects of government functionality. This video format, which especially resonates with millennials, fosters better resident engagement on important topics such as snow and ice removal and stormwater management.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Dr. Ann Rondeau, President of the College of DuPage, who after a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, took the COD helm during challenging times.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work and a dogged determination to self-improve do pay off, allowing me to be the first in my family to graduate from college.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Following graduation from law school, I would have taken a month to travel with my wife, instead of being so anxious to start work.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?High level English classes that involved intensive writing and analysis. They taught me how to write and communicate very effectively, which is a key skill.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?We have two frequent sayings in our home: (1) Ãâ#128;™Participate in your own survival,Ãâ#128;œ and (2) Ãâ#128;™Try to learn from diverse perspectives.Ãâ#128;œ