Who is Running for Mayor?

by MARCO CARTOLANO

As a Haitian immigrant, Evanston mayoral candidate Gary Gaspard said he hopes to represent a more diverse Evanston and stand up for the less fortunate members of the Evanston community. Gaspard also said he wants to use his experience with both working with students in Chicago Public Schools and as a professor of social policy at Northeastern Illinois University to address the needs of at-risk and economically disadvantaged young people with effective policy.

Promising that he will uphold Evanston’s status as a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants, Gaspard reflected on his own experiences as an undocumented immigrant. “I behaved myself and I was a law-abiding undocumented citizen. I like the opportunity this country has given me so much and that's what I want to give to other undocumented citizens a chance too. If an undocumented citizen doesn’t commit a crime we’re not going to cooperate with the federal authorities.” For Gaspard, opposing Trump’s immigration policy is a necessary part of his promise to help the less fortunate.

Gaspard also wants to work with disadvantaged people who are Evanston residents. As a supporter of Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl’s Summer Youth Employment Program, Gaspard advocates extending it to a year-long program. He argued that giving young individuals a steady income would keep them from committing crime by using an analogy of a hundred dollar bill. To explain his reasoning, he said that a rich celebrity like Oprah or Michael Jordan would not even look at the bill, a person, making six figures would report the bill in order for it to be returned to its rightful owner, but an impoverished person would thank God and take the money.

Improving relations between police and young Black individuals is key to Gaspard’s platform. Having worked with at-risk youth, he said he believes he can reach out to them. Gaspard became emotional as he talked about the need for both sides to become more sympathetic to the other.

“Youth need to see police in some other way. We need police in society. But we also want to the police to understand the youth. The youth has a mother, has a family,” he said. “I want to see if I can establish a better relationship between the community and the police.” One of Gaspard’s main ideas is a mentorship program where police can work with young people in order for both sides to humanize the other.

Gaspard’s proposed policies for disabled citizens and policies against privatization keep in the spirit of his inclusion efforts. He believes enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act should be a part of his diversity measures.

“I want everybody who lives in Evanston to have a sense of belonging. That Evanston belongs to them,” he said. “When you find that you belong to something you tend to protect it and do better.”

For Gaspard, privatization excludes less wealthy Evanston residents. He also stated that privatization hurts transparency and that private companies can lower wages for struggling workers. He uses Chicago parking as an example of the ill effects of this practice. “People are paying more money for parking. And the people who work for parking are making less than when the city was responsible for it,” he said.

In order to encourage these less wealthy citizens to stay in Evanston, Gaspard also supports affordable housing measures. His platform includes a reduction of the property tax to keep Evanston residents from leaving the city and encouraging young professionals to move to Evanston.

“I want Evanston to be as diverse as possible. I like the high rise. I like the young professionals coming in. You know keeping the city alive. It’s so beautiful. But you also have homes where people have lived for many generations. Some of these people because of the property tax hike are leaving town. If you leave I hope it will not be because of property tax,” he said.

In order to accomplish his goals, Gaspard wants to create an advisory committee of former mayors to talk about policy. “If you don’t know where you’re coming from you cannot know where you’re going. You need to know the history. I want to the living mayors to tell me,” he said.

Gaspard cites the enthusiasm he elicits from his students as evidence that he can be an engaging mayor. “My students never doze off in my classroom because I keep the classroom alive and a [create] sense of community. When time is up I am always telling students, ‘It’s time to go,’” he said. “I want to transfer that to the city. Make people feel proud about the city.”

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by JAKOB LAZZARO

Why is Steve Hagerty running for mayor? For him, it’s all about experience. An Evanston resident since 1999, Hagerty believes his 24 years of experience working with governments as a disaster management consultant sets him apart from the other four Democrats running.

“I’d say I understand Evanston really well from lots of different dimensions,” Hagerty said. “I understand municipal government, I understand Evanston, and I understand leadership.”

Hagerty has run Hagerty Consulting, a disaster management firm, since 2001. He’s an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and holds a masters of public administration from Syracuse University. For Hagerty, it’s all about plans.

“I think I have a really good understanding of the importance of public safety in a community and the importance of planning for events that could happen in the future,” he said. “There’s this great saying, ‘Fail to plan, plan to fail.’ I very much believe that. Future success doesn’t happen by chance, it happens because you are very thoughtful and holistic in your planning.”

Being Evanston mayor is a part-time position, although it’s “pretty intense” in Hagerty’s own words. He is confident that he can balance being mayor with avoiding conflicts of interest.

“The last couple years, I’ve been pulling myself out of the day-to-day operations of the business,” he said. “We’d never have a conflict where my company is doing paid work to the city. I absolutely think that would be a conflict. Otherwise, the work that we do with other clients, I don’t see that as a conflict of interest in any way with the city of Evanston’s business.”

Town-and-gown relations haven’t always been the greatest, but Hagerty says President Schapiro and Mayor Tisdahl have done a “fantastic job” improving them. He wants to increase the community engagement of Northwestern students and the city’s utilization of university resources.

“I think there’s opportunities that we could look at with the family institute, the transportation center, potentially with the library and other parts of the university,” Hagerty said. “This is a mutually beneficial relationship. Evanston is what it is, in my opinion, in part because of Northwestern university and Northwestern is what it is, in part, because of the city.”

Hagerty also wants to extend and expand the Good Neighbor Fund, the 5 year plan of million dollar payments Northwestern makes to the city in lieu of property taxes, while ensuring that any new building or land acquisitions by the university aren’t removed from the property tax rolls. He plans to use the Good Neighbor Fund for infrastructure investment and human service needs.

“I want to see smart and sensible economic development throughout all of Evanston, not just necessarily in Evanston’s downtown,” Hagerty said. “As mayor, my eyes and ears are constantly going to be open to understanding, better and better, the needs that are in the community and then making a judgement each year on what I think are the highest priority needs.”

Hagerty supports Evanston’s status as a sanctuary city, saying that Evanston “needs to be an epicenter of social justice.” That extends to the Evanston Police Department. After the Lawrence Crosby incident, Hagerty wants to work on building trust between the police and the community by using the Civilian Police Review Board as a jump-off point.

“The community has to have input and participation in the procedures that we establish for our police department,” he said. “They’ve [the community] never really had a seat at the table and I think they should have a seat at the table, but the police also have a seat at that table.”

As one of the candidates affected by the legal challenges over who could be on the ballot for mayor of Evanston, Hagerty wants to clear up the confusion in Evanston’s election laws in his first 100 days. However, he says the litigation undertaken by candidates Brian Miller and Jeff Smith is a judge of character.

“It should be easy, not hard, to run for office,” he said. “[It] is a great example of someone’s management style and someone’s style for how they try to solve problems. In both of those instances, both with Brian Miller and with Jeff Smith’s, their solution to the problem was self-serving. It was to have the election board remove everybody else from the ballot so they would be the only candidate for mayor. Their solution would have disenfranchised the residents of Evanston.”

Many Northwestern students aren’t registered to vote in Evanston, but Hagerty still feels that it’s important to speak with and for them. His biggest wish? More engagement.

“We are living in strange times. More now than ever, I think we need to be inspiring young people to consider careers in government or elected office,” Hagerty said. “Running a campaign for local office, in my opinion, ought to include conversations and engagement with everyone in this community – even those who may not vote at nearly the percentages as other groups in the community.”

In that spirit, make sure you head to the polls, no matter what candidate you’re voting for. Early voting began on Feb. 13, and the primary election is on Feb. 28. The general will follow on April 4. Find your closest polling place here.

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by MILA JASPER

As a candidate for mayor, Ald. Brian Miller (9th) has run on a platform centered on reforming Evanston to reflect its progressive values.

Miller is a lifelong Evanstonian; he attended Evanston Township High School and graduated from Northwestern’s School of Law as well as George Washington University. He lives here with his wife and two sons and serves as Chief of Staff to Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin.

Miller voted in favor of and maintains his support for the sanctuary city ordinance, and lists reducing gun violence through reforms as one of his top priorities. He has also been very vocal on the issue of police accountability and wants to enact de-escalation training and establish police policy transparency with the community.

“I was proud to vote for the sanctuary city ordinance...we should be doing the most progressive thing that Evanston can and actually picking that fight, pushing for a wider policy agenda [nationally],” Miller said.

After college, Miller worked as a community organizer in Evansville, Indiana. He said he learned how to encourage cooperation between groups with a wide variety of belief systems in order to find common and achievable goals. Miller hopes to use this methodology to determine how to move forward as a community that contains as diverse interests as Evanston.

“We can push the issue on these things and try to set the standard as a community for the national debate,” Miller said.

But Miller also stresses the importance of returning focus to the less-than-glamorous city services that are nonetheless the basic functions of local government, such as general maintenance of roads, libraries and parks.

He argues that some of the community’s best assets, like the lakefront, are not getting the kind of attention they need.

“In two years [on the council] we have never discussed the lakefront,” Miller says. “We've spent maybe fifteen minutes in two years on the parks, maybe.”

In order to accomplish these goals, Miller said he hopes to create a holistic process by streamlining operations, with an emphasis on increasing transparency.

“Right now on the council, a lot of the times it seems like basically everyone is kind of working in terms of if you scratch my back, I scratch yours,” Miller said.

This causes the needs of individual wards to take precedence over the good of the whole, a problem made worse by a lack of transparency, according to Miller.

By reducing the number of council meetings and cutting the number of committees to simplify the process, Miller hopes to facilitate public input and keep the government accountable.

“Evanstonians in general want to have public input into whatever we are doing as a city, and I agree with the need for public input, but when the process is so cumbersome that there's fifty-some boards and commissions to keep track of, public input gets lost,” Miller said.

Miller encourages Northwestern students to use their voices so that Evanston and the University can recognize their common interests and work together to improve town-gown relations.

“We really need to have an organized effort to put pressure on decision makers,” Miller said. “We've had in the past couple of weeks a couple students actually testify before the city council and it was extremely powerful because we never hear from students, I mean never.”

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by ELLY RIVERA

Among the five mayoral candidates, Alderman (6th) Mark Tendam stands alone when it comes to direct ties to Northwestern University. He’s not an alum and he hasn’t hosted a show on WNUR, but he’s lived in Evanston for 23 years and he has season tickets to the Northwestern men’s basketball games.

Tendam, who described his earlier self as a “reserved, quiet graphic designer hiding behind an art board,” began his city involvement with Better Existence with HIV (BEHIV) by becoming a board member. When he later became board president, Tendam became acquainted with an organization named Leadership Evanston and through this organization he received leadership training. The city council’s poor state increased his interest in politics and he ran for alderman, deciding to “be part of the solution rather than the problem.” His first election was unsuccessful, but his later involvement in local organizations gave him the name recognition to win the second time he ran.

Tendam has worked on several projects in the city, including adopting a fund model for the library, building the fund for the affordable housing ordinance and fixing the Evanston Animal Shelter. He has also dedicated time to youth organizations and programs such as the McGaw YMCA and the Youth Job Center, which offer youth, reading and mentoring programs.

When speaking about these nonprofits, Tendam says that it’s important to get kids on the same playing field during their elementary school years and for the rest of their time in school.

Tendam’s plan for bettering Evanston is to create a better sense of community. When it comes to bigger issues, he said, the community needs to be more involved and it needs to rid itself of nimbyism, or “not in my backyard” mentality.

“We need to have a good dialogue about progress and changes before we make a quick decision and jump to some conclusion. I believe compromise is what it takes to be an effective leader and to be a progressive community,” Tendam said.

In addition to increased attention to schools, Tendam would like to see more cooperation and partnering with District 65 and 202, the Evanston/Skokie and Plainfield school districts.

“We all need recreational and sports facilities, and there’s no reason why we can’t overlap there and help each other out. Especially in the summer time, the schools aren’t using all the facilities,” Tendam said.

Along with his fundraising and involvement with youth groups, Tendam has an appreciation for the arts. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s. degree in graphic design. Although he may not have studied politics, he said his background has influenced his policy plans.

“[One] push is keeping our downtown vibrant. I really believe a performing arts center would be a big boost to downtown. Most communities of our nature have one; I think we’ve relied on the university’s facilities,” Tendam said.

Outside of downtown Evanston, Tendam wants to focus on giving neighborhoods more attention. This includes making nutritional food and medical care more accessible for the citizens in low-income areas.

In fact, there’s a volunteer-run organization entirely devoted to that cause. Tendam is the aldermanic representative on the Housing, Homelessness and Human Relations Commission, which addresses housing-related matters and works to preserve “a diverse residential environment.” In addition to working on the City Council, Tendam served as a board member for the Democratic Party of Evanston while being involved with the McGaw YMCA Board. He and his husband Neil Moglin are also involved in their synagogue.

Throughout the 23 years he and his husband have lived here, Tendam said he has grown to love Evanston because of the fascinating people and its community. As the city’s first openly gay alderman, he hasn’t encountered any serious backlash and he gives credit to the city.

“Chicago and Evanston, especially Evanston, opened up my thinking that I could be so much more than what I ever thought I could be,” Tendam said. “There are all kinds of barriers, there are economic and racial and social and sexual barriers, but I think in this town we do a good job of breaking down those barriers.”

by MAGGIE HARDEN

*Not running for re-election

Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl will reach the end of her term as February comes to a close, leaving behind eight years of service to the city of Evanston. During her time as mayor, she’s worked hard to improve Evanston through several initiatives, and said she’s proud of what she’s achieved.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of my 8 years as mayor,” Tisdahl said. “It’s a fabulous job, and I’m grateful to have been entrusted with it.”

Tisdahl oversaw the establishment of the Erie Evanston/Skokie Health Center in 2012, which made the Evanston health care system much more efficient. Prior to the new hospital, there was an incredibly long waitlist to receive treatment, which, at one point, was as long as three months. Now, there is almost no wait, and it’s also easier for community members without insurance to receive care.

In addition to the new hospital, Tisdahl helped turn 100 foreclosed homes in Evanston in 2010 into affordable housing. The city has also won numerous awards for its environmental progress under her guidance, and sells over $1 million worth of water to other communities in Illinois that don’t have as good of access.

Tisdahl was first elected in 2009, and worked closely with her predecessor, Lorraine Morton. Tisdahl recalled how proud she was the first day she went without calling Morton for advice (which was not until several months into her mayorship). She said she would be happy to provide similar guidance to the next mayor, if asked.

“The advice I would give to the next mayor is the same advice Lorraine gave me: every day I just decide – whatever new and great thing I have to do as mayor that day, I’m going to have fun doing it,” Tisdahl said.

After her term is over, Tisdahl originally had plans to work for Hillary Clinton if she was elected; however, now she said she plans to target her political aspirations toward defeating President Trump and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. Besides politics, Tisdahl plans to spend time with family, after vacationing with friends in Machu Picchu. In particular, she hopes to spend time with her granddaughter before she goes off to college in the fall.

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by PAOLA de VARONA

If you “felt the Bern” like no other and still longingly wish “the Revolution” had taken off with the help of Sen. Sanders, then we’ve found your guy.

Jeff Smith, a Northwestern alum and Harvard law school graduate, leads his progressive campaign because he couldn’t give into the cynicism of a rigged system, even when it seemed daunting.

The November election proved to be Smith’s galvanizing moment to run for the mayoral office, after practicing law in Evanston for over 25 years and being involved with the Democratic party of Evanston.

“Everybody now has to make their own statement and contribute the body politic to the utmost of their abilities… This is where I thought I could have the most impact right now,” Smith said. And after all, the political revolution begins at the local level.

Smith believes that Evanston has the potential to be a national leader in contemporary issues, beginning with the environment. While Smith often places his economic development plan above climate issues on his priorities for his mayorship, the environment has always been a keystone issue in his political career and the topic “dearest to his heart.” “It’s foundational to all other issues because if we lose the environment, we lose everything else,” Smith said.

Being a leader in greenhouse reduction and deep sustainability requires some lifestyle changes, but Smith believes Evanston residents will be receptive to his ideas and he does make it a habit of leading by example. For the past 25 years every private office Smith has held has been within 2 miles of his house so he could bike in good weather. He keeps 25 species of native plants in his front yard and instead of using cement – which has a high carbon footprint – to replace his sidewalk, he hired a company that takes the excess trim from granite countertop and makes them into pavers.

These kind of innovative companies are the exact businesses Smith wants to attract to Evanston as part of his economic development program.

Instead of attracting big name retailers into Evanston’s community, Smith believes the town has the potential to embrace niche businesses and often times green-centered independent shops. Rather than appealing to corporate America and bringing in a Walmart, Smith envisions a community that supports these enterprises that may not thrive elsewhere in order to give

Evanston character and make it unique. He proposed a seed exchange shop downtown that could connect local nurseries to the larger community and pop up galleries hosted in empty stores to reduce storefront vacancies. Since Evanston’s close proximity to Northwestern makes it a largely academic community, Smith believes innovation and creativity can spur from this connection with the university in order to make a more attractive and engaging city.

Smith is no stranger to this university interaction. As a Northwestern undergraduate student, he believes his experience with Evanston from “the other side of Sheridan road” is one of the distinct assets he has to offer as mayor. He wants to use this knowledge to bridge the divide between the university community and Evanston by involving students in municipal projects.

Having lived in parts of what have been the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh and a block south of the eighth ward, Smith has experienced many of Evanston’s neighborhoods. “So I've seen Evanston from many different angles,” Smith said.

Smith understands the diversity of economic situations in Evanston and has made housing affordability a priority for his mayorship. While he said many other candidates focus on the question of tax increases for property owners, renters are often ignored in the property tax debate. However, landlords hike up prices for renters based on increases in property taxes and this can have a huge toll on middle and lower income families. Smith wants to be conscious of the diversity of these experiences by making decisions that don’t just consider a single group in Evanston’s community, but all living situations instead.

Smith promises that if he hasn’t personally walked in your shoes in his time living in Evanston, he has come across a similar experience through one of his many clients from the community over the years. Smith stressed that although he’s toasted a wine glass with President Shapiro and worked with important government officials, his previous experiences being on the other side of government are important perspectives he can offer as mayor.

“I've actually fought on the side of the grassroots in a lot of controversies. So I question authority, but from a vantage point of having achieved results. We won a lot of those battles,” Smith said. “A lot of people want to be in city hall, I think it's useful to have fought city hall once in awhile. Again, so that you know what it's like to be on the outside and to feel like government isn't listening.”

And although he shares the skepticism that he believes many students experience today towards politics, he asks students to set aside their misgivings and get involved.

“When it seems daunting and maybe especially when it seems darkest is when we have to dig in and fight back the hardest,” Smith said.

Editor's note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated Jeff Smith had previously lived in the eighth ward. We regret these errors, and made the change on Feb. 20 at 6:55 p.m.

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