Julee Mortensen: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Julee E. Mortensen

City: Elk Grove Village, IL

Office sought: Trustee

Age (on election day): 66

Family: Yes Husband and 2 sons & daughter in laws and 4 grandsons

Occupation: Owner of a Manufacturers Sales Rep Company

Education: Associate degree in Business with Engineering Classes in Metallurgy

Civic involvement: I work with several organizations, EGTD, Elk Grove Township food Panty, Streets of Elk Grove, CCSD59, D214 Entrepreneur incubator Classes, Indivisible groups against hate event.

Previous elected offices held: No locally elected offices. I was elected to office in Midwest Fastener Assoc. Elected at Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Presidents and Chairperson who started the Education Committee

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?

Website: NA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuleeforEGVtrustee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/e_julee

Issue questions

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

Transparency is a big issue that I see and hear from the residents. It is difficult to get information from the village website. Because Elk Grove Village is a Municipality information should be readily available to all. Some of the residents feel that they are not equally represented. Unless they know someone Personally they feel they do not have a voice and their opinions are not represented. I organized an event "Hate has no Place in America" We all need to work together for the common good of the community. We can't have individuals belittling others because they don't agree with their opinions. We need to make sure everyone is represented in the Village.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I have lived here 46 years. I have seen many changes in Elk Grove Village. During this time the Elk Grove Village has changed in many ways. As both a resident and a business owner I understand the issues that face the Village. We need to ensure all the resident have a seat at the table to address their problems.

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.

A style of leadership I believe should be used is to bring together all voices that want to be involved in the process. Trustees are supposed to represent the entire Village, both the industrial park and the residents. People are important and their opinions should be valued. All should collaborate to find win-win solutions that makes everyone satisfied.

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?

People want to know that their tax dollars are not wasted. I will make sure that no dollar is wasted on unnecessary items while preserving the vital services that Elk Grove Village provides to the residents.

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

I believe we need to do a better job promoting the diversity within our community. Elk Grove Village is extremely diverse and everyone needs to be engaged. Some of our residents utilize food pantries or experience homelessness. We have children that do not have access to early education before they enroll in school. We have special needs people who need jobs. Some people work more than one job to make ends meet. How do we work with businesses to get these residents better paying jobs? There are may issues that affect our community. These issues need to be addressed, not ignored or swept under the rug. The better we make our community for all residents, the better the community will be for all residents.