Yulia Bjekic: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Yulia Bjekic

City: Mount Prospect

Office sought: Village board

Age: 39

Family: Husband, Vedran; two children

Occupation: Certified Public Accountant

Education: Boise State University, Master's Degree in Accountancy (Taxation)

Civic involvement: Volunteer with Mount Prospect Human Services Department and Northwest Compass, deputy voter registrar

Previous elected offices held: None

Incumbent: If yes, when were first elected? No

Website: yuliaformp.org

Facebook: @YuliaForMP

Twitter: @mp_yulia

Issue questions

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

Mt. Prospect is a richly diverse community; in fact, 30 percent of our residents were born outside the United States. As a first-generation American myself, I understand what the American dream looks like and I want Mt. Prospect to be a place that supports that dream for all its residents.

Any active, thriving community needs all citizens to be engaged and feel heard. This means we must ensure our local government listens to, respects and responds to the needs of the whole community. If elected, I want to strengthen citizen outreach throughout our community and encourage more residents to be engaged in decisions.

I am committed to advocating for a "big picture"/strategic approach to development decisions - one that carefully considers the impacts of new real estate on the character of our community, the quality of our schools and the health of our environment.

I will work to ensure that we find new, creative ways for the village government to share important information, promote transparency and collaborate with other units of government.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I'm committed to Mount Prospect - I own a home here and have chosen to raise my children in this community. This gives me a vested interest in ensuring that Mount Prospect continues to be successful and vibrant.

I've been a volunteer and activist at the local level since our family relocated to Mount Prospect in 2015. My extensive community connections give me a unique perspective on how residents feel about their relationships with the local government and where improvements in that relationship are urgently needed.

I've been an active participant in many important issues affecting our community, such as the establishment of Prospect/Main Tax Increment Financing district, minimum wage/sick leave opt-out, the police and fire departments relocation and related bond issuance, and various real estate developments. These experiences have provided me with an in-depth understanding of past successes and future challenges.

My professional background as a certified public accountant with a concentration on private business and real estate makes me uniquely qualified to consider any upcoming development projects. I always do my homework and I am not afraid to ask the hard questions.

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 take a collaborative approach to leadership. I'm not afraid of a healthy and respectful debate, as it's often the best route to sound decisions. I believe the role of an elected official is to reflect the will of the electorate, and I intend to serve that function if elected. I will commit to meeting people where they are, being a respectful and thoughtful listener, and making decisions only after receiving extensive input from all stakeholders. From my conversations with residents, the community wants to have more input into the decisions of the village board, and I hope to be a facilitator in making that wish a reality for our residents.

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?

Our village's financial situation is currently stable and healthy. However, we have to work diligently to ensure that our local government is well prepared for future contractions in the national and international economies with healthy reserves and disciplined spending. We must be thoughtful when considering future borrowing and be responsible with our obligation to fund pension liabilities. I will work to ensure that we retain our exceptional public servants and maintain the highest level of services to our residents.

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

In the past few years, there has been a marked increase in the level of engagement by folks who were typically not very politically active. I want to harness that energy and show more residents how important and impactful the decisions made by their local government are to their lives. If elected, I hope to foster an engaged, productive relationship between the village board and the community and to help encourage and mentor a new generation of leaders in our community.