Allison Longenbaugh: 2021 candidate for Naperville City Council

Challenger Allison Longenbaugh, one of 11 candidates running for four 4-year terms on Naperville City Council, responds to the Daily Herald candidate questionnaire for the April 6, 2021, local elections.

In-person early voting with paper ballots is now available at the DuPage County Fairgrounds Building 5, 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton. In-person early voting with touch-screen voting begins March 22 at locations throughout the county. Learn more at www.dupageco.org/earlyvoting/.

For more election coverage, visit dailyherald.com.

Bio

City: Naperville

Age: 51

Occupation: Vice president in Clearing Operations at J.P. Morgan (29 years)

Civic involvement: Home & School Board at Ellsworth Elementary; Girl Scout leader for 5 years, troop earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award for organizing Spring Festival; sewed and donated more than 500 masks to nursing homes, Edward Hospital, neighbors, family and strangers on social media during pandemic.

Q&A

Q: How do you view your role in confronting the pandemic: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state and federal authorities?

A: Council should lead by example. Given the vacuum of leadership at the federal level during the pandemic, the city could have done more to discuss the efficacy of mask wearing as a mitigation strategy and led by example.

The proposed mask mandate ordinance was a temporary measure that would have demonstrated the measures the city was willing to take to get our local economy back on its feet and to keep our residents safe.

With vaccine distribution coordinated at the state and county levels, Naperville should focus on the mitigation strategies that must remain in place until herd immunity is achieved.

Clear, fact-based communication is essential and should come from city council so residents have the information they need to make good decisions for their families.

On the economic front, the city council must explore temporary short-term solutions to help small businesses survive the pandemic.

On a long-term basis, the city council will need to address permanently changed business and worker needs, such as increased work-from-home arrangements, which will impact Naperville's two train stations and office space.

Q: Did your town continue to adequately serve its constituents during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.

A: Naperville did an excellent job of transitioning in March, and continued to serve residents efficiently. For example, city council meetings were conducted via Zoom, and participants were given the opportunity to dial into the Zoom call to speak or to have comments read into the record.

The Transportation, Engineering, and Development (TED) team converted its permitting to an electronic process within 21 days. And, while this wasn't a "service," our census self-response rate of 84.1% was the highest in the nation for cities of this size, which was a fantastic effort by the census committee.

However, the city council should not be complacent. The situation will continue to evolve so the city council must constantly analyze the impacts of COVID and collaborate with stakeholders to develop the best solutions.

Q: In light of our experiences with COVID-19, what safeguards/guidelines should you put in place to address any future public health crises?

A: The city should always maintain a safety stock of PPE. Our technology infrastructure must be evaluated for additional upgrades as part of testing its Business Continuity Plans (BCP). Ongoing education and modeling of the risk mitigation strategies will increase adoption of the practices if/when we are faced with a future public health crisis.

Lastly, we should partner with county health departments to inform and encourage people to get vaccinated annually to reduce incidence rates and spread. As we've seen recently, there is a lot of confusion about how and where to get the vaccine, and a consistent message would help calm residents and give them direction.

Q: What cuts can local government make to reduce the burden of the pandemic on taxpayers?

A: Naperville has already pushed some nonessential capital projects to future years (e.g. streetscape improvements). The city could renegotiate vendor contracts when they renew and analyze the balance sheet to identify assets that are not necessary for the functioning of the city. Given the current favorable interest rate environment, the city refinanced its debt to preserve liquidity without burdening taxpayers. Containing the spread of the virus between now and when we achieve herd immunity will also restore a normalized economic environment which will replenish sales tax revenue.

Q: What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what infrastructure project can be put on the back burner?

A: The planned replacement of the Washington Street Bridge must go forward. It is a critical artery and the 40-year old structure has weight restrictions in place. The project will take nearly a year and cost about $6 million.

In addition to easing traffic and improving safety, the adjacent improvements will reduce flooding. This project has federal funding for 80% of the cost.

The 5th Avenue Train Station development project should remain paused until we can reassess the permanent changes to how people will live and work. The original thesis was people would choose to live and work in that development as a way to have a city lifestyle at suburban costs with an easy commute. With future train ridership in question and increased acceptance of work from home arrangements, the city will have an opportunity to create a solution that will meet the needs of the times and be a good fit for the community.

Q: Do you agree or disagree with the stance the council has taken on permitting recreational marijuana sales in the community? What would you change about that stance, if you could?

A: I agree with the current stance and I would have voted to opt in earlier. Marijuana was made legal in Illinois in 2020 and had Naperville been the first to set up dispensaries, we would have established the standards for the region. Instead, Naperville is playing catch up.

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

A: Composting! Reducing food waste is not only good for the environment by reducing carbon emissions but it would be good for Naperville's budget. The more we compost, the less landfill space we need and taxpayers' money is saved. The waste can be used as fertilizer or converted into a biogas energy source.