Mark Patrick Boyle: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Mark Patrick Boyle

City: Lisle

Office sought: Village of Lisle Trustee

Age: 61

Family: Married with two children: my wife Lori and children Patrick and Sarah

Occupation: Professor and Consultant: Economic and Geographic Research

Education/Degrees: PhD - Human (Transportation) Geography, St Leonard's College, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland; Master of Science, Marketing, Northern Illinois University; Bachelor of Science, Marketing and Economic Geography, Northern Illinois University

Civic involvement: Commissioner, Economic Development Commission, 2003-2004; commissioner, Zoning Board of Appeals, 2000-2003; DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference

Previous elected offices held: Village of Lisle Trustee

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? 2007

Issue questions

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

The nasayers of this Village must be a thing of the past and their negativity needs to be gone. Lisle has the will and the way, now they just need to have the positive attitude to 'make things happen'. We must all work together for a great quality of life. The Village's responsibility is to deliver great government services (police, water, public works, etc.) and to advance our economic planning.

As I said before: 'we are all 60532' The Village, meaning all of its residents, employers, and employees, must continue the progress that it has made in developing the best town in DuPage County. This is an ongoing process of development and redevelopment.

As said by a famous president: "I've always believed that a lot of the trouble in the world would disappear if we were talking to each other instead of about each other." I believe the same at our local level. In this hamlet of Lisle we need to put our elbows up on the fence and 'talk with our neighbor' on what is positive in our town; what make it a great place to live.

We need to believe in each other and work together.

* What makes you the best candidate for the job?

You cannot be in this position and only have an interest and knowledge in just a single issue: a multifaceted (economic development, budget, safety, environmental, etc.) comprehension of issues is needed to successful serve the citizens of Lisle. I have those interests.

I am the best candidate for the job because of the following: I believe in listening and working together in this town. I am committed to fiscal judiciousness while keeping a full range of services to the citizens; I understand the challenges and the opportunities of economic development - from what drives successful businesses to what economic growth can do for our community. I believe in civic duty and in serving the people of Lisle.

I have the 'hands on experience' of being an elected Trustee for the last 12 years. I have the experience of being a member of Lisle's Economic Development Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Since 2008 I have participated in the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference which includes being on their Board of Directors as well as being the Director of the Planning Committee and a member on the Transportation Policy Committee and the Intergovernmental - Planning Committee.

* 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.

My challenge is to help balance the diverse opinions of Lisle citizens while helping to further improve the economic vitality of Lisle as well as the quality of life for its citizens. We all have different opinions, but we are in this together… We are all '60532'. My leadership style is to listen, digest, listen again, work with others, and then develop the forward movement to develop a 'positive' result.

My leadership is on the Board but also in the community. I want the community to be an active vibrant part of the 'positivism' of a forward moving Lisle. We all need to lead Lisle forward.

* 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?

A budget should continually be being reviewed and rereviewed. Lisle is fortunate that we have had great stewardship. Staff and previous elected officials made sure that the budget and the level of services matched. What is important today and tomorrow is that economic growth is needed to make sure that future monies match future needs.

Increasing real estate taxes is not the answer to balancing budgets. Economic progress is what's needed to balance those future budgets. Education of the citizenry on the Village of Lisle budget helps in agreement on its future direction. Remember that the Village is responsible for the following: police, water, public works, and economic planning and development.

I have been excising my civic responsibilities for over a decade and I believe in listening and working together with all the taxing bodies in this town. The current devolution of Lisle's economic development is of real concern to future budgets and not just for the Village taxing body but for all the taxing bodies.

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

The Village of Lisle government needs to continue to be diligent in following its new land use plan for downtown and it needs to be supportive of private sector development. It needs to be able to deviate from its master plan by understanding that the private sector needs to be able to be creative in implementing appropriate economic projects. Not everything should be 'set in stone' except for the positivism of Lisle and its future. We are in this together… we are all 60532.