Alejandra Dominguez: 2023 candidate for Libertyville trustee

Bio

Town: Libertyville

Age on Election Day: 44

Occupation: Program Manager/Director

Employer: Department of Labor

Previous offices held: none

Q&A

Q: What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the city council or village board respond to it?

A: While knocking on doors seeking petition signatures, the one predominant issue that the community brought to my attention was the lack of attainable housing for both young returning Libertyville professionals and retiring Libertyville residents. The Humans Relations Commission has been working on an attainable housing ordinance for over two years and it would require new developments to set aside 15% of the units for working families and seniors so they can live here affordably. We should definitely advance and approve an attainable housing ordinance that provides housing for everyone at every stage of their life.

Q: How would you describe the state of your community's finances?

A: In talking to a few of the trustees and while attending a recent board meeting, it was remarked that the Libertyville finances are the strongest they have been in over ten years. This is also shown by Libertyville's most recent bond upgrade to Aa1.

Q: What should be the three top priorities for spending in your community during the next four years?

A: Our priorities for the next four years should not only be about how we spend money but about outcomes. Our focus should be on stronger community engagement and input, environmental sustainability and stewardship, and job creation and economic development. Budgets are not only about spending, they are really decisions and we have to focus on the impact of those decisions that enhance the quality of our community.

Q: Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed? If so, what are they?

A: One of the things that we have to focus more on is supporting our small and mid-size businesses; our mom and pop's. One of the ideas I favor is the creation of two types of business grants, one small grant (less than $5,000) to provide technical assistance to small businesses and a larger grant to attract new businesses and help current businesses expand their operations in Libertyville. The cost supported by both of these grants would be split 50/50 with the businesses. In this way, the Village can help our small and medium-sized businesses thrive, grow and achieve success.

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

A: In understanding our Village budget, our major infrastructure projects (streets, water, sanitation) all have dedicated sources of funding that are guided by rate studies or specific earmarked sources of revenue. Because we may be in uncertain times, one of the best ways to position ourselves to meet future challenges is to invest our time and talent in engineering plans for shovel-ready projects so that we can take advantage of state and federal money that would be made available to us to pay for infrastructure and the renewal of our community parks. By being shovel-ready and pursuing state and federal grant money, we take the burden off our own taxpayers while improving our own services.

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

A: As a Trustee candidate, my campaign commitment is to be a voice for all of Libertyville. As an experienced public servant working at the federal level, small business owner, mother, and life-long volunteer, I am dedicated to giving back in making Libertyville stronger. As a Libertyville Trustee I would be collaborative, seek to understand the people at the table, bring in and make room for new voices, and work in partnership to get consensus on everyday decisions that make positive impacts on all of Libertyville.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: The reason why I am running for Trustee is because I love the Village of Libertyville. I am an experienced public servant in the federal government, advocate for positive change, mother, life-long volunteer dedicated to giving back and making Libertyville stronger. If elected, I would be the only woman, and only woman of color, on the board as a Trustee, which is critically important to encourage more women to run for office and have a seat at the table to make better policies for all of Libertyville.

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

A: As a person running to be a voice for all of Libertyville, I would like to focus on the youth. As a mother of two beautiful D128 graduates, and coming off the social isolation of COVID and the need to help students and youth connect I'd love to champion the idea of creating a HUB for our youth similar to our senior center. The HUB could be a unique safe space for adolescents to gather, socialize, talk about the issues that matter to them and form healthy relationships that contribute to building and strengthening the sense of community in all of Libertyville.