Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to the Township, and why would those contributions be valuable in the role you are seeking election to?

I am running for Township Trustee to increase my contribution to the community and the Township. I already volunteer with the Township: I serve on the Sr. Services Committee, deliver meals every week, assist a low income Sr. via the Township Money Management program, and step up when asked. The Township helps me live my values.

The role of Trustee is fiscal stewardship and policy. This role will allow me to leverage the skills I developed in my business career. I spent over 30 years in marketing and business management mostly in large food companies, including Ralston Purina, Sara Lee and Entenmann’s.

2. What are the three biggest challenges or opportunities you expect Oak Park Township to face in the coming years, and how would you work with your colleagues to address these challenges or realize these opportunities?

1. Responding to the needs and challenges created by the pandemic and the resulting social & economic impacts. I don’t expect we fully understand the complete toll this pandemic is taking both economically and socially. I especially am concerned about the increase in substance abuse that has occurred while we’ve been more isolated. The Township will need to be nimble and adapt as we learn.

   Township staff will be among the 1 st to identify the needs & challenges created by the pandemic. The Trustees will need to listen well and find ways to balance resources, overcome obstacles and adapt policy. I want to help the Township adapt and rise to the challenge.

2. Reach more in our community that need a helping hand. To expand reach, the Township must make sure its partners in the community know how it can help (e.g. school and community social workers, social service agencies such as Thrive, Housing Forward, Beyond Hunger, Sarah’s Inn, Hephzibah, New Mom’s, Oak Leydon, Opportunity Knocks, Yemba) and expand the network, for example through congregations (and the AA meetings many of them host), and the Housing Center’s new renter welcome packet.

3. “Hidden in plain sight” Awareness of the Township is a significant part of reaching more who need a helping hand (as well as building community-wide appreciation for what the Township does for Oak Park). As I collected signatures to run, it reinforced that many Oak Parkers don’t know we have a Township, nor what the Township does. We all get so much information that we filter out what we don’t need. Targeted outreach can be very effective (e.g. making sure those doing youth after school programming know the Township has scholarships for fees and other out of pocket costs & how to apply) Community-wide communication is how to make the Township more top of mind – both through media, participation in community and neighborhood events and better leveraging those who know the Township to actively spread the word. My marketing background can help me lead awareness building strategies. I hope this campaign (the 1 st contested Township race since ’05) engages residents to learn what the Township does for the community.

3. How will you balance competing interests, such as your own values and opinions, input from Township staff and fellow Trustees, and diverse views from the community? How would you describe your leadership style and your decision-making process generally? 

I was raised a Quaker and our approach is to listen to all points of view and seek consensus. The ultimate answer is no one’s individually but finding a space where the group is comfortable. A Trustee’s job is to make sure all stakeholders are heard. My experience is that the Township has wonderful staff and I will always listen to their insight. The Township committees serve as “the voice of the community” in each area. I currently serve on the Sr. Services Committee and am impressed at the depth of knowledge and expertise of the community members that volunteer. I intend to attend these regularly to listen and solicit input. I will continue to volunteer at the program level – to provide me perspective on how we do our work.

Ultimately, the Staff deserve clear, consistent direction from the Trustees. That should happen in a strategic plan that the Trustees align around and track against. Each year the Trustees can update our direction with insights from the year and new learning. We should also be flexible to adapt to throughout the year as the situation changes.

4. What values would you bring to the budgeting process?  What changes do you favor in the process by which the Township conducts its budgeting and fiscal planning?

• I am impressed by how the Township manages resources/our tax dollars:

• The tax burden from the township is <2% of our property tax bill.

• The Township is one of the few local gov't taxing bodies that did not max their ability to tax when the TIF rolled off last year.

Township pension contributions are manageable because pensions have been funded appropriately.

I am not alone, our Township, once again, received the Government Finance Officers Assn. Distinguished Budget Presentation Award (the 16th time).

There is always room for improvement, and as I learn I will offer my ideas.

5. How will you balance the community's desire to decrease the property tax burden with the Township’s mission of providing an array of services and supports to the community, including youth and seniors?

I believe the Township manages the resources we entrust them frugally and helps Oak Park be a more compassionate community. To have the resources to expand reach and services offered, and not increase our tax burden, I believe we can obtain greater funding from grants. Foundations often have a bias towards funding local agencies that can efficiently deliver direct support.

The Township already partners with a wide variety of community resources to deliver services – particularly in Youth Services and the Mental Health Board. We should be evaluating the impact against the objective and make sure our tax dollars are well spent. We also should “test and learn” so we don’t throw out new initiatives before we have given them a fair chance to succeed.

6. How do you define equity? Have recent discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking? 

Equity is that everyone has the same chance to succeed (we all start from different places so we need different support to have the opportunity). Discussions with Linda Francis (Success of All Youth) have informed/changed my thinking. I know I experience the world with privilege, I am disappointed when Oak Park does not live up to our vision of a welcoming community. My heart was heavy this summer when my neighbor said that she fears for her son when he goes beyond our block (he is a responsible and caring middle schooler). We can do better. The Township needs to do its work with an equity lens. The Township’s work is to help the most vulnerable and we can’t do that work effectively without equity.

7. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing this community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

We need to listen to all of our community: current clients, potential clients and those who don’t have a need (yet).

• I will continue to participate in Township programming and ask for feedback. However, I am aware that those who need the services may be hesitant to give negative feedback.

• I will challenge our citizen committees to engage more diverse voices of the community in their work and make sure both leadership (staff and elected officials) hear the feedback. Currently, these committees are often engaged in updates on initiatives rather than providing robust input.

• I will seek invitations to share the work of the Township at Community groups and ask for feedback (e.g. through congregations, parents groups, and the library.) In an effort to go to the community instead of expecting them to come to us.

ADDITIONAL BARRIERS

• Each program has different rules for participation (driven by requirements of the funder). Case workers are accustomed to navigating but it is confusing for community members. We need to create (and keep updated) a simple matrix of services and eligibility requirements

• Township is careful about client confidentiality. As a result much of the feedback comes through the staff who may filter out negative feedback. Surveys may be helpful and maintain confidentiality.

• Unintended micro aggressions: my experience of the staff is that their hearts are committed to service. However, we don’t always walk in the shoes of our clients and need to be mindful of choice of words and tone. On-going training is likely needed.

8. Residents often express confusion about the disparate roles of the Village and the Township, particularly in the wake of the advisory referendum on consolidation in 2018. What steps would you take to increase the visibility and community awareness of the Township’s mission and programs?

We need to be more visible as “the Township is hidden in plain sight” and clearer about our messaging (the Township can help - I’d like to see the Township as the 1st call, our staff knows the resources in the Township & Community). My Marketing and Communications background is a real strength in this area.

A good start is increasing presence in community media – the Wednesday Journal, Oak Leaves, OakPark.com as well as in FYI inserts (distributed by the Village). Testimonials and real life stories (respecting confidentiality) can help address the challenge that Township Services aren’t important until you need them. We can reach almost 60% of Oak Park (property owners) by promoting Assessor services and doing clinics on how to determine if your property is over assessed. It’s an opportunity to share information about what the Township does for the Community beyond the Assessor. And we need to reach the over 40% of Oak Parkers who are renters - we can work through the Housing Center and the large building owners/managers to reach renters. The Library is also a community hub for information.

Also, there’s an opportunity to build understanding about how our local government is structured and works through the schools (and this message often reaches parents). In addition, many students have “service commitments” - the Township can develop volunteer service opportunities for different age groups.

9. What relationship do you believe the Township should have with the other local taxing bodies? How can the Township and other government bodies work best together?

The different local taxing bodies should work together for efficiencies and where missions overlap. We do some of that today and these are good 1 st steps. For example,

• Efficiencies: the Township transportation services purchases fuel through Village public works and shares busses with the Park District.

• Common Goals: Youth Services works through the schools, Adult Protective Services works with Oak Park Police on issues of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, and the Township is helping seniors pre-register for the Village Health Dept vaccine initiative.

Youth Services and the Mental Health Board should be involved in reimagining local policing as we recognize the police are called into situations better served by social services.

The Youth Interventionist program was once a model for intergovernmental collaboration and support, unfortunately that has begun to unravel as the Village cut their contribution from the budget, expecting the Township make-up the gap (with no communication). We can do better.

10. What lessons learned from the adjustment of service and program delivery during the pandemic do you believe will be applicable going forward, even after the pandemic abates?

• Some programs have grown dramatically and the staff creatively figured out how to step up our service (e.g. Sr meals more than doubled in ’20 while the pandemic closed the Sr Dining room)

• The staff works remotely with great success, having this option should continue.

• Participation in Township Board Meetings and Committees is available virtually; we need to figure out how to do combined meetings.

• Volunteer support has increased. We need to continue to engage community members in the work of the Township. Our volunteers are our best ambassadors.

11. Private fundraising for a proposed Community Recreation Center has begun. What resources do you believe the Township can or should bring to such a project? How do you see the Community Recreation Center leveraging existing local facilities and programs?

I believe the building should be built by private fundraising; operations should be sustained by the organizations and individuals that use it.

The Mental Health Board has committed to support the Recreation Center and move offices to the space when it’s built, to be more visible and connected to the community. Youth Services may want to consider the same. Senior Services can partner with the Community Rec Center and the Park District Active Adults program to expand programming and reach, as well as support access via Transportation Services.

12. What concerns you most about the state of service availability in Oak Park? Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve?

Oak Park is rich in services. My concern is due to lack awareness of what is available and fragmentation of where it is offered that those who need the services are not getting connected. The Township receptionists and case workers are a wealth of knowledge that help connect those who contact the Township with what is available. Assessing how to expand this role is something I would like us to explore. One option, that Evanston has implemented, is an intergovernmental 311 #, however it came with a steep price tag (over $3M, I believe).

13. How will you collaborate with neighboring communities? Discuss a specific initiative you would wish to undertake. What benefits and challenges would you anticipate?

I am aware of several initiatives focused on seniors that could provide a model (for other areas of service):

• The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Subcommittee on Ageing: Our Senior Services Director attends, has built connections, and learned about efforts in other communities.

• Arbor West Neighbors has initiated and is convening the Neighborhood Age Friendly Collaborative to share best practices and identify ways to work together; it includes Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Maywood & Austin.

• River Forest contracts w/ Oak Park to deliver many services (Sr and Youth).

I believe collaboration will work best around specific areas of common interest. We need to build on these examples to collaborate and learn. The challenge is most often time constraints while being responsive to the needs of this community.

14. Give an example of a time when you worked to understand a situation or view different from your own. What helped you to move through that process? What hindered you as you moved through the process?

We chose to live in Oak Park to be in a community. I value the diversity in this community and am frustrated when I learn that some do not feel welcome or worse. I know I benefit from privilege and I work not to be blinded by it: attending the community-wide showings of America to Me and the conversations after each viewing at OPRFHS, participating in Race Conscious Dialogs to strengthen my self awareness and develop skills as an ally.

The Township has a diverse board, staff and client base. I can learn much from all – my challenge is to make sure I develop the trust that makes those who feel excluded, unwelcome or mistreated, feel safe and be open with me, and I need to listen well. My goal is to use my access and skills to make Oak Park a more compassionate community.

There’s a saying on the FDR memorial that speaks to me: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough to those who have too little.”

15. Two advisory referenda were added to the ballot in Oak Park in November of last year through a process at the Township. Do you believe non-binding referenda such as these are a useful tool for governance and civic engagement? Why or why not?

Referendums provide a broad window on the sentiments of the voters. I am concerned sometimes, they are often simplistic and don’t reflect the tradeoffs that result.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/19/21.]