Kerston Russell: 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: MundeleinWebsite: Not yet availableOffice sought: Mundelein Village Board Age: 60Family: Happily married, with an adult daughter and two grandsons.Occupation: SalesEducation: High SchoolCivic involvement: Member of the Mundelein Economic Development Commission. Member and Chairman of the Mundelein Business AllianceElected offices held: I have never held a public office.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I do not consider myself the best, but I do believe that I can make a difference. I believe that our village needs a greater focus on business and as a business owner I can bring a new and different perspective to the village leadership. More importantly I see this as an opportunity to give back to the town that I live in.How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services that people want?I think our town has done well on our budget and we get an excellent service value for the money we spend. If we can maintain the budget at the same level as the past 4 years we will be in great shape.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I do not see trimming the budget as a need, but rather where we spend our budget monies. I would like to see our village monies being spent more within the community and with our businesses. I would like to see more of our village staff living within the community.What is your vision for the downtown area, especially the empty land around the new village hall?I see a tremendous opportunity to create a downtown area posed for the future. I see great value in bringing developers and business owners to the downtown. I can see Mundelein's downtown area becoming in the future a destination for both the county and northern Illinois.What should village hall do to reach out to Mundelein's sizable Hispanic population to get these residents involved in village activities and taking advantage of village services?Working with our Hispanic business owners is the starting point. These business owners service the Hispanic community. We need to find a way to first involve them in the community and their customers will follow.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Mundelein needs, no, it must become a business friendly, business centered, business supportive community. We must understand that to reach our potential as a community we must find a way to better support and serve our business community.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.The PopeWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work ethicIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with family and friends earlier in life.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Art. I use it in my marketing work for clients.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Spend more time with your family and friends and less time trying to gain more possessions