Thomas Dymit: 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: WheatonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: NoneFacebook: NoneOffice sought: Wheaton City Council East District Age: 61Family: Wife- KarenMarried 36 years3 Children ranging in ages from 34-15Resident of Wheaton since 1986Occupation: Professional musician/North Central College faculty member/Member Chicago Symphony Chorus-39 yearsEducation: BM in Music/ Vocal Performance/University of Illinois Champaign/UrbanaPost Graduate studies/ University of Washington/Seattle.Civic involvement: Coordinator of Annual Plant and Flower Fundraiser for Wheaton Boy Scout Troop 303Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What downtown improvement projects do you think need to be a priority and why? Is there work you want to eliminate?Downtown parking must become more customer friendly and available to encourage ease of access to businesses and restaurants. Wheaton needs to develop a vision for attracting more diverse businesses to the City. A glut of banks and salons has been the Wheaton of the past.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Taxes are always and forever too high. The focus should be on the quality of services provided for those taxes. Taxing citizens should always be the last resort after all other options are explored. When services are poorly delivered tax dollars are wasted.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?Regular discussions with Police and Fire Chiefs should be had to determine the needs for their respective departments. The professionals hired by Wheaton to run these departments should be in a position to know where we stand and what we may need to provide the best results. Wheaton should not have a blank check mentality, but needs that are backed up with documentation to justify any expenditures.I disagree with the idea that recreational drugs of any type should be legalized. That will make the job of law enforcement even more difficult.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Every government contains waste. Wheaton is no different. Government is easy to expand and very difficult to shrink. Anytime someone retires from a government position, there should be a specific process to go through to determine if that position is truly still necessary or not. We should strive to provide the best services we can with the most efficient and lean government possible.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Wheaton has many different types of neighborhoods with different characteristics needing different solutions to problems.Wheaton needs to be willing to be flexible enough to respond to accommodate those differences. If some streets don't have curbing, plow the snow from those streets more carefully to avoid damage to lawns of residents. Don't ever assume a one size fits all policy for any problem when dealing with different neighborhoods.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Communication, communication, communication! As a Wheaton City Council member, I will respond to every inquiry to me. I will not pick and choose whose email I answer. I know that when a citizen takes the time to contact a Council member, they probably aren't happy. I will stay on the issue all the way through to resolution. Currently, some Council members expect citizens to behave in a way that pleases them before they decide whether or not to even respond to a citizen. That isn't the definition of a public servant to me. Agree or disagree with a given issue, I will represent each and every one of my constituents. Wheaton is only as good as the people that step up and work as hard as they can to maintain and improve it.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceXWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Being the middle kid, I learned to listen and observe.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I have no regrets and don't dwell in the past.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?All Music classes. They laid the foundation to sing as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in performance and on Grammy Award winning recordings.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?The same advice Arnold Palmer's Dad gave him: You can be excellent and nice at the same time.