Bryan Anderson: 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: WaucondaWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneWauconda/Office sought: Wauconda Mayor Age: 55Family: Jill - SpouseEvan - SonOccupation: REALTOREducation: Attended DeVry University 2yrsCivic involvement: Volunteer for; Turkey Trot, Bunny Hop, Triatholon Leaf clean up for seniors. VP Friends of the Wauconda Area Library. Director President nominee of the Rotary Club of Wauconda, Wauconda Police commissioner.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers If elected, what will you do to prevent the type of animosity between the mayor, the board and the public that plagued Mayor Bart's term? How will you run the mayor's office differently than your predecessor?1.To prevent the animosity that existed between the mayor, trustees and the public, I would meet with the trustees and establish that during any discussions we have we first "seek to understand, before we seek to be understood." This will allow each of us to not only respect the thoughts and opinions of other, but to actively listen and question ideas to understand what may be driving a person's position on a subject. We all want the opportunity to be heard and have our opinions considered. As the village management team, we have a duty to respectfully communicate with the residents and each other. We may not agree on all issues and we shouldn't, in order find the best solutions we need hear different points of view. If we communicate with the idea "I'm right and you're wrong," we tend to want to defend ourselves and not listen. Let's face it, you can't make everyone happy, but what we can do is respectfully hear each other out, probe to get a better understanding or clarity of an idea before we share our own thoughts. Things I would do differently to run the office, I would remind the village staff regularly of our responsibility to our neighbors and friends. and everything we do should be to enhance the quality of life on our community and enhance our sense of community.What was village hall's biggest failure of the last four years, and how would you have solved the issue or acted differently? What was the village's biggest success of the last four years?What I see as the biggest failure over the last four years is communication. This lack of communication fostered a lack of trust. Without trust you can't have respect. It was this breakdown that lead to the animosity and hostility between the Mayor, the board and the residents. I see the biggest success as being the budget surplus for the past couple of years. Decisions were made, to make sure that the village spent less than it took in. If we maintain this level of fiscal responsibility, it provides a great platform on which to build and attract new business. A strong bright future starts with a strong financial foundationWhere, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I think the budget is trim now. The only area I feel you may be able to trim is around discretionary spending. I don't feel there are areas where spending should be increased now.Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.My management style is about good communication, empowering people to own what they do, and share ideas about what they see that is going well in their area or department and what areas in the department have opportunities for excellence. This gives voice to the people who are experts in their areas to share with myself and the other mangers successes and challenges they face. This type collaboration brings fresh ideas and perspectives by allowing outside eyes the opportunity to question why we do something to reach a goal, and are there other ways to reach the goal that may be more efficient or effective. This shows my confidence in their abilities and fosters open communication, trust and teamwork. My management style is about tapping into the talent, experience and intelligence of the people I work with to inspire creative ideas. The above coupled with a clear shared vision on what we want to accomplish over the span of my 4-year term and clear goals on what we need to accomplish in each of those years, will help guide the board's decisions and actions.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?1.As a Rotarian, our group provides scholarships for both academic and vocational students. We recognize that a tremendous amount of attention is paid to students pursuing higher education, which we all feel is great. What we struggle with is getting students who are vocationally inclined to take advantage of our scholarship. We also recognize that businesses in our industrial park need skilled vocational labor. What I would like to do working in concert with Wauconda High School the business community is to set-up an outreach to students that may find working with their hands more rewarding. Have the business owners from the industrial park present to students interested in vocational opportunities, explaining to them the steps needed to follow that path and typical wages paid for those professions. Jobs in trades like plumbing, electrical, dry walling and HVAC pay well and can lead to entrepreneurial opportunities in the future. My hats off to Wendy Mills and Wauconda H.S. on what they do with FBLA. We need a similar outreach to individuals that have talents on the vocational side. I think it would help to reduce the dropout rate, and give additional options to our young students.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Volunteerism, I think it is a tremendous way to meet people in the community and help build a sense of pride in our town. I think we do a great job now, I would like to see new faces join in with new ideas about things we can do, or ways we can do them. The beauty of being in a small town is people do care. We need to let our residents know what great opportunities for service there are in our town. Rotary, Lions, Moose, Masons and American legion just to name a few. I would love to see a huge turnout in the spring for a spring clean-up project, picking up the liter not only around our individual homes but in areas that visitors see when passing through our town on Rt 176, Bonner Rd etc. This pride in where we live will not only let people passing through our village know Wauconda is truly a special place to live and play, but will let them know we think so too.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Joe Maddon, His creative thinking created an environment to win; and they had fun doing itWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Never burn bridges.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spend as much time as I could with my mom, Verna AndersonWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Humanities - Taught me to appreciate all forms of art, music and literature. Mrs Garver Mr Baker were the best!If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Live in the moment, and have a lust for life.