Tammy Sarver: 2025 candidate for Downers Grove village council

Bio

Office Sought: Downers Grove village council (Vote for 3)

City: Downers Grove

Age: 57

Occupation: Professor of political science

Previous offices held: Elected precinct captain

What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the village council respond to it?

I think that there will continue to be attempts to further exclude and silence the voices of our already marginalized communities.

For example, a serious issue currently being addressed by the village council is whether there should be an alternative (new) library board of trustees member selection process. I believe that this is an attempt to restructure the governance of our award-winning library to enable the entry of political bias which has the real potentiality of repressing freedom of speech and expression to the detriment of all of our diverse community members. It is our responsibility as a municipality and our mission to protect against any erosion of human rights.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Due to the hard work and due diligence of our existing village council, I believe that our community's finances are in good order. They have done a wonderful job of ensuring that revenue is well spent and focused. Because the village council’s approach is to budget at the same time it is designing its long-range plans, the council already anticipates future expenses.

In fact, this approach/process has consistently won awards. The top priorities for spending during the next few years should be directed to enhancing our streetscapes, supporting our first responders and emergency services, and ensuring that our Social Services department and Human Service Commission remain well-funded in order to make sure our elderly, unhoused persons, and anyone in need of assistance can continue to receive the support they deserve.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

The village council already has a comprehensive plan, Guiding Downers Grove, that I support. And this planning already proceeds in a way that is based on the state of the economy at any given moment. This plan which includes mobility, sustainability, and streetscapes as action items is a fiscally responsible and important community plan designed to provide community safety, increase revenue, ensure environmental responsibility, and enhance community aesthetics.

Many of these initiatives will ultimately pay for themselves with the resulting revenue that many of these projects will ultimately produce. Also, scaling back certain capital asset purchases, as the village council has already begun, is a good idea in uncertain economic times.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village council.

I have much experience both working in a group setting to determine policy, and I have past leadership thanks to several administrative roles I have held in my professional life. In addition to serving as an educator for many years, I have had the opportunity to serve as the chair of my discipline’s department, Title IX Coordinator, and I served for a year and a half as the dean of our liberal arts college.

In all roles, I was active in creating and implementing policies of various natures, including work on revising our faculty handbook, assisting in devising a university-wide strategic plan, and revising Title IX policy to correspond with ever-changing federal directives.

My style of leadership in roles like these, which is transferable to managing a local government is “participative.” I believe that what truly works best to arrive at the best community decision is active listening to all voices involved, data driven decision-making, and respectful collaboration.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I am the best candidate for this job, because I do not view it as a job — it is a calling; just like teaching has been a calling for me. I believe in social justice, environmental sustainability, community engagement, education, affordable housing, and innovative solutions to the ever-changing problems that face our local community.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Let me give you two ideas! I love the ideas of having community gardens where people can work together to cultivate food and friendships, and more cultural events to support the members of our diverse community and to promote understanding of one another in order to bring our community even more together.