Scott Pierce: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: AntiochWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Antioch Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 51Family: Wife: Sheryl Bellefeuille married since 1985 Daughters: Courtney 22 Madison 14Occupation: Lead Field Service Engineer with Natus Neurology Incorporated. Providing Service, Installation and Training across the Country for Epilepsy Monitoring and Neurodiagnostics and providing guidance and supervsion of a team of FSE's in the South East.Education: High School Graduate: Northwestern High School, Rock Hill SC. 4 years of Advanced Electronic Schooling on Computers and Radar Gunfire Control Systems in the United States Navy.Civic involvement: President of Oakwood Knolls Property Owners Association 2 times President of the Antioch Lions Club Once Server at Pasta Petes at St Peters Church once a monthElected offices held: Village Of Antioch Trustee - 3 termsHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: In 1980, I pled "no contest" to misdemeanor trespassing in Fla. I was there for Boot Camp and Electronics Training. I was notified that a very close family friend succumbed to Toxic Shock Syndrome (the first one). On the day of her funeral, I drank too much and committed a "Cool Hand Luke" type action that involved sitting in a row of unlocked cars at a car dealership (it was a sting; setup in response to numerous cars being stolen over several months). I was arrested and paid a minor fine (two hundred dollars, I think) and court supervision for a year. Since then I completed 11 years Active Duty and 11 years Reserve Duty in the USN and was screened then cleared for a secret clearance. I was awarded two Meritorious Commendations, Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Medal twice and a National Defense Medal. As a Reservist I was select "Sailor of the Year" once in Milwaukee and chosen as a recipient of Wisconsin's "Richard Bong" award for outstanding Service. I was cleared by the Department of Treasury to work inside the West Point Mint as a Field Service Engineer for their Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometers measuring the quality of their gold. I strongly feel that my action that day of grief has been far outweighed by my life of military and community service. I have been a good family man, served my neighborhood, town and country. I am financially sound, care for elderly family members, treat my wife and daughters with care and respect and I have proven that people can change or move beyond mistakes if they work hard and gain wisdom from their failures.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I believe the Village Board needs Balance and Individuals who are able to work together to solve the myriad of problems our Village faces. I believe balance allows all sides of discussion to be heard, dealt with and better solution found. A Board cannot be one sided and function properly. I serve on the Board with one purpose which is to find solutions and do the absolute best I can for the residents of Antioch. If we do not listen to all sides and find ways to work together we fail the residents by reaching flawed conclusions and solutions.Key Issue 2 I believe Antioch needs to be prepared for the upcoming future. We will be facing pressures for developement and growth, we will continue to have reduced finacial resources and the our residents will expect their quality of services to increase or expand. We have been planning for the future through planning sessions with frank assessments of where we are headed. The next few years will be crucial to how we implement those plans. I would like to help be part of Antioch's Future.Key Issue 3 I believe the Village has done a very good job the last two adminstrations positioning ourselves for the future and dealing with present realities. I feel though that the struggle of the Families over the same time have not been fully appreciated.Items like the new Utility Tax, 51 percent increases in Water Bills with automatic annual increases, and increased fees at every corner only hurt our residents and drive them away. I will continue to push for moderation or the outright rejection of increases that are rushed or not well thought out. My family has been here since 1987 and I have met a lot of families over the years raising my family. I know how hard it is and always strive to bring their voice to the Board.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have a life time of real life experiences around the world, across this nation and here in Antioch. I bring those perspectives to my position as Trustee. I have served for 12 years and have faced every dilemma the Village has encountered. I have dealt with Growth both good and Bad, I have faced times of financial prosperity and austerity. I have been involved in every decision required by the Board. I believe I have a reputation for doing my homework, listening to all sides, arguing the good fight when needed and bringing unique well thought out inputs that have helped move the Village Forward. I believe that all my opponents in this race are good candidates but I am the best because of my experience, passion and knowledge. I hope my service to the Voters and residents over the last three terms has been such that they will support me in my efforts to continue to serve.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.I believe Sales Taxes are about right but the real issue should be the outrageous property taxes our families and seniors are paying. The State of Illinois must find a way to make it attractive to have businesses and families return to the State. Other States are succeeding and ours is failing. If you have businesses return and investing in Illinois you will have revenues increase and more jobs available. Job availibility means more families coming to Illinois which again means more revenues. That is the real answer to our problem.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.I believe the biggest concern locally is the safety of their children in their neighborhoods. I have proposed and will continue to propose finding ways to slow the flow of traffic in high speed areas. I support increased police patrols where needed and involvement of community where able.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I believe the Village of Antioch has led the vanguard of being aggressive when it comes to facing budgetary shortfalls. I do not believe we can further reduce services and employee counts without significantly impacting what we provide to our residents.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I believe with the High Density Internet Fiber Cables that run near the Village we should find a way to gain access to attract Hi-tech businesses o the Village of Antioch. This would give us a spring board into the future in the same way that areas like Chattanoga have begun to. I also think we have completely failed to position ourselves as an entry-way to the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.