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Martin T. Tully: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Martin T. Tully

City: Downers Grove

Website: www.martintully.com

Twitter: @MayorTully

Facebook: Martin Tully for DuPage County Board - District 3

Office Sought: DuPage County Board, District 3

Age: 53

Family: Married to Shanon Tully for nearly 30 years; We have two wonderful adult sons

Occupation: I am a litigation attorney and founding partner of Actuate Law LLC, a boutique Chicago law firm that combines talent and technology to craft bespoke legal solutions for the next generation of business leaders.

I have over 25 years of national experience representing companies and individuals in complex commercial litigation concerning a broad array of fields and industries. Empowered by my commercial litigation practice, I am also nationally recognized for my knowledge and experience in the fields of electronic discovery, information governance, and data security/data privacy.

Formerly, I was a partner with the law firms of Akerman LLP, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Education: DePaul University College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1990; University of Illinois at Chicago, B.A., Political Science, 1987; Downers Grove North High School, graduate, 1983

Civic involvement:

Past President, DuPage Mayors & Managers Conference

Municipal Member, DuPage County Stormwater Management Committee

Board Secretary, DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU-COMM)

Member, DuPage County Public Health Department Mosquito Abatement Taskforce

Director, DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau

Board Member, Metropolitan Mayors' Caucus

Director, Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation

Ex officio Director, Chamber 630 Chamber of Commerce

Director, The Hundred Club of DuPage County

Board Member, Hope's Front Door

Member, Downers Grove Lions Club

Member, Friends of the Edwards House

Founding Member, Grade School District 58 Education Foundation

Board Member, DePaul Center for Public Interest Law

Elected offices held: Mayor of the village of Downers Grove, 2011 to present; Commissioner, Downers Grove Village Council, 2001-2009; Precinct Committeeman, Downers Grove Township Republican Organization

Questions & Answers

1. Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

It has been a privilege to serve two terms as the mayor of Downers Grove and I am very proud of what our community has accomplished during that time. We've achieved and maintained a AAA bond rating, annually balanced budgets, CALEA certified "excellent" police department, ISO Class 1 rated fire department, green fleet awards, and numerous economic development successes, to name a just few, and all without increasing property taxes for municipal operations for eight years running.

Due to local term limits, I cannot run for another term as mayor. Yet, I have more to give back to the community, and I would like to continue to serve the residents of the area and share these validated strategies for success with the citizens of District 3, and the county overall. In this regard, the residents of District 3 deserve experienced representation on the county board from a proven leader with a strong track record of integrity, transparency, innovation, and getting things done.

2. If you are an incumbent, describe two important initiatives you've led. If you're not an incumbent, describe two ways you would contribute to the board.

My deep municipal leadership experience building nonpartisan consensus to effectively overcome thorny challenges and deliver quality services in the face of declining revenues translates exceptionally well to the county board, and to tackling the many tasks that are before it. As a newcomer, I will also bring fresh creativity and innovation to the county board on matters such as controlling expenses without sacrificing services, implementing successful economic development strategies, cost-effective stormwater management, leveraging smart technology, intergovernmental cooperation, enhancing green fleet practices, and striking the right balance of tradition and progress when it comes to land use. My community has been a leader in these areas for the past decade, and my leadership there will be of benefit to the county board and all the residents of DuPage County.

3. Is there a specific service or amenity that is lacking in the county? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund it?

Everyone agrees that transparency and accountability are critical aspects of local government. Evolving technology has made it possible like never before to make massive amounts of information available to interested county residents in multiple methods and mediums.

Therefore, it should be incumbent upon local government to also provide the means by which its constituents can digest the growing quantities of raw information about the function of their county government and elected officials in order to truly see what they do and hold them accountable for acting responsibly. One way in which to empower the electorate's understanding is through a series of "short form" format videos that highlight key aspects of government functionality. This video format, which especially resonates with millennials, fosters better resident engagement on important topics such as stormwater management.

We should also create more opportunities for citizens of DuPage County to get involved and actively participate in their county government by creating several committees of appointed volunteers who could serve as community sounding boards and advisory bodies on matters as senior services, animal control, environmental issues, bikeway paths and trails, etc. Meeting sites would rotate throughout the county in order to bring the business of the county to its constituents.

Both of these items most likely can be done with existing resources.

4. With DuPage County's budget being squeezed by state funding cuts and other factors, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?

Now, more than ever, local governments must figure out how to live within their means. Taxpayers simply cannot be expected to endlessly fund a growing list of wants. Instead, all reasonable efforts to reduce costs should first be exhausted and ruled out before even considering new revenue opportunities, especially when there is usually an opportunity to do more with less. In my municipal experience, we have been successful at holding the line - and even reducing - costs and head count by leveraging a combination of lean practices, innovation, technology, collaboration and consolidation, and employing public-private partnerships. Importantly, we've shown that this can be done without sacrificing key public services and maintaining public health and safety. Revenue can be enhanced by growing the tax base - not the tax rate - by intensely pursuing a robust economic development program. Keeping our county highly attractive to new businesses and commerce, as well as retaining what we already have, should continue to be a top priority.

I also support continued vigilance and advocacy by the county to keep Springfield from undermining local control, depleting the county's share of state revenues, and imposing further unfunded mandates.

5. The county has been focused on consolidation of services and government agencies. How effective has that effort been and how could it be improved?

In appropriate circumstances, the consolidation of government units or services can be an effective mechanism for maintaining or enhancing public services while controlling or reducing the costs of their delivery. It can also have the benefit of streamlining the number and footprint of public bodies, significantly reducing complexity and bureaucracy. However, consolidation should not be done simply for its own sake, but where it makes sense and is supported by the entities to be combined. Thus, consolidation should come from the bottom up, from those most immediately affected, not forced upon them from the top down. The county's ACT Initiative has played, and should continue to play, an important leadership role in identifying opportunities for consolidation, educating residents on the impact and merits of consolidation proposals, and assisting those seeking to combine government units with navigating or overcoming legislative and other barriers to consolidation. The success of early ACT Initiative wins should be learned from and built upon to identify additional opportunities for collaboration or consolidation that both make sense and have local support.

6. What is the single most important issue facing your district and how should the county address it?

Any initiative worth pursuing in District 3 would be one that the residents of the whole county should benefit from. If elected, a few initiatives I would suggest to my new colleagues on the county board include:

• Further empower and facilitate the sheriff's and coroner's offices efforts to develop and pursue a multitiered, multiprong solution to opioid scourge in our county. This is a key opportunity for enhanced collaboration that can meaningfully redress a very serious epidemic.

• Beyond consolidation, the county should identify and explore additional opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with other government bodies, as well as private and not-for-profit entities. Some municipalities have already successfully employed such innovative partnerships to streamline the delivery of public services. This concept, known in the private sector as "collaborative disaggregation," means increasingly turning to alternative service providers to handle certain legal and matters on a more cost-effective basis.

• Working with the state, as needed, to develop a Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-Off Abatement Program, giving property owners 60 or older the opportunity to volunteer services to the county in exchange for a reduction in the county portion of their property tax.

7. Please name one current leader who most inspires you.

Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, the first woman to lead a top 20 company, who oversaw one of the largest tech mergers in history.

8. What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?

Hard work and an unwavering determination to self-improve do pay off. Among other things, they allowed me to be the first in my family to graduate from college, and then from graduate school.

9. If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?

Following graduation from law school, I would have taken a month to travel with my wife, instead of being so anxious to start work.

10. What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?

High level English classes that involved intensive writing and analysis. They taught me how to write and communicate very effectively, which is a key skill.

11. If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?

We have two frequent sayings in our home: (1) "Participate in your own survival," and (2) "Try to learn from diverse perspectives."

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