Patrick Wartan: 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: ItascaWebsite: http://www.PatrickWartan.comOffice sought: Itasca Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 27Family: Robert Wartan (Father), Jeanine Wartan (Mother), Cheryl Wartan (Sister), and Michael Wartan (Brother)Occupation: AttorneyEducation: JD, magna cum laude, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2010 Bachelor of Science in Honors Marketing, DePaul University, 2007 Lake Park High School, 2003Civic involvement: Member of the District 10 School Board Finance Committee, Addison Township Republican Party, and Executive Council of the Chicago Bar Association, YLS.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Advocate for the entire community by being freely available to all residents to voice their questions and concerns.Key Issue 2 Given our current economic situation it is imperative that we stop unnecessary spending and realize that additional tax increases is not the answer.Key Issue 3 Implement a better flood management program including street curbs.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My passion for our community. I am independent objective when it comes to any type of political affiliations in Itasca. Thus, why I choose to run as an independent. The Village Trustees should be independent from the Village President and more importantly independent from each other. In fact, Trustees running in lockstep with one another and the Village President, defeats the very notion of having any independent intelligible discourse. I am passionate about our community and our values. I grew up in Itasca. I enjoyed park district events, the pool, and the library. I relish talking with residents about their experiences as well as their concerns. I encourage anyone to reach out to me anytime, day or night, via e-mail or on my cell phone to discuss any issue large or small. If we can't address the issue on the local level, my pledge is to work with you to find a solution.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.Itasca's tax level is too high. However, our present tax level did not materialize out of thin air, its the result of our Village's spending. The only natural way to address the tax level, would be to develop a systematic approach to encouraging more businesses to open in Itasca, specifically sales tax generating businesses. I?d like to work on marketing to encouraging those businesses to come to Itasca.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.As I've met with residents over the years, I've heard one consistent theme. Streetlights and curbs need to be implemented into our village infrastructure. This is a relatively simple concern, and an issue that should have been addressed years ago.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?The School District is often one of the largest components of Itasca's strong sense of community. Our schools are the reason most of my neighbors decided to raise their family in Itasca, however, our school district is not given the resources it requires. We need to make our schools are priority again. As mentioned, one way to offset the budget is to an increase in sales tax. We should look towards developing programs that bring in additional sales tax generating businesses, and more importantly programs that allow our existing sales tax generating businesses to thrive. Finally, our village projects should only go to the most economical responsible bidder. No exceptions. This concept should be applied globally to the budget. As a community, we need to make smarter decisions with our money. We can stretch our dollars further. Our projects should always go to the mostWhat's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?We need to step back and ask a series of questions: What brings residents to Itasca? What brings businesses to Itasca? And what does everyone love about Itasca? The focus is on, among other things, the small community feel, our school system, the quality in our infrastructure, public safety, and easy access to transportation (including train, airport, and highways). Itasca has a perfect value proposition to drive businesses to Itasca. We are an affluent village that happens to be advantageously situated on many commuters route home from work. Realizing that, we need to keep that focus as Itasca changes and continue to market ourselves to harvest sales tax generating businesses.