Farah Laman: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Farah Laman

City: Village of Hawthorn Woods

Office sought: Trustee

Age: 47

Family: Spouse and two Children 18 and 16 yrs. old

Occupation: IT Systems Admin

Education: Degree in Finance

Civic involvement: Works within small community organized events

Previous elected offices held: none

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?

Website: none

Facebook: Farah for HawthornWoods

Issue questions

What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?

Avoid using the land for Developments, zoning of residential properties not to be below one acre, Avoid supporting projects that can lead to tax burden on residents. No community outreach programs to keep residents engaged.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I will be the new face to the village with fresh ideas and different perspective. I have an open vision and have the ability to assess and resolve issues in a timely manner. I like to work with people and believe in achieving success by listening to the voices and by working as a team toward a common goal.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

I believe in making team decisions through discussions and contributions made by involved team members so all are equally aligned in achieving a common goal and share responsibility and accountability for actions.

How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?

I believe village board is working smartly by using Priority Budgeting and trying to adopt the features that would bring more transparency to the community but the prioritization can always shift depending on demand. I have yet to see how the revenues vs the expenditures, the priorities and timelines can be better balanced.

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

My one vision for the village is to have it's own beautiful and desirable Hawthorn Woods promenade without compromising the privacy and peace of the residents. The place where the community is looking to enjoy the beautiful outdoor spaces, cute little shops, small and friendly eating places and families are hanging out and wanting to spend more time outdoors. Making the village a desirable destination and attracting crowds from surrounding towns to visit and spend money in our town. We should conserve our farmlands and not use the parcels of land for commercial developments.