Ed Pope, District 1: 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: Glendale HeightsWebsite: NoneOffice sought: Glendale Heights Trustee, District 1Age: 49Family: Wife Maureen, Son Dane, Daughter Lauren Occupation: Director of Marketing Owner ofPartyman Productions LLCEducation: High schoolCivic involvement: Bloomingdale township republican committeemanElected offices held: Trustee District #1. Glendale Heights' Citizens' emergency response team. Chairman: Parks and Recreation CommitteeChairman: Property Enhancement CommitteeChairman Christmas Decorating CommitteeLiaison to: Green Team, Special Events and Christmas Sharing Committee.Member: Ordnance Committee and Capitol Projects committee/Aquatics Sports HubHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Keeping all Village services running within our budget. Key Issue 2 Finding NEW revenue streams/Stimulate Development Key Issue 3 Looking for more opportunities for our Teen population to help keep them active and safe in our community. Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?10 years of pro active experience working for the residents of District 1. I have strived to address all their needs while learning the best ways to run our Village and maintain the quality of life our residents want without having to over tax them or reduce services to them. I have worked hard with my fellow board members to keep us fiscally responsible, yet we have helped to grow our community and expand to address to meet our future needs. 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. I feel we have done a very good job in keeping our tax base at a level to keep the Village running efficiently and effectively to meet all the residents' needs without over taxing them. No one likes to talk about taxes. But I feel that we are appropriately taxed. 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.We have a Police force that is second to none. I feel Glendale Heights is a very safe place to live. I think some of the current problems we face are Social Hosting/underage drinking parties, which we are currently working on ordnance to address this issue. We also have the general crimes that can happen in our neighborhoods and our always looking for our residents to help us keep in check. . We have a Citizens Police academy, a CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) program and an ESDA (Emergency Service Disaster Agency) program that residents can get involved with. We have a new state of the art Command vehicle, a new online crime reporting feature on our website, and all our Officers go through ongoing training to keep our residents safeIn 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?I think our staff has worked as hard as they can to trim our budget. I don't think we can cut anything else without affecting our services to the residents. We have not had to do that, and I don't think we will. These are some tough times, but I think we have done a good job in preparing, planning and with good fiscal responsibility we are just riding it out like the rest of the country.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Intergovernmental Partnerships. I think if we reach out to our neighboring communities that we may be able to maximize our assets and help each other to sustain though this tough economic time.