As Ed continues to recover from surgery, I’ll use his blog as a place for readers to learn more about candidates for alderman in the 1st, 2nd and 7th Wards. (Doug Wilson is handling the aldermanic previews for the 3rd and 6th Wards.) These online previews are aimed to provide a little more insight on some of the key topics facing each ward and the city.
Hurry back, Ed.
David Adam
Age: 48
Political party: Republican
Family: Husband Greg, children Maranda, Lacey, Nathan and Matthew, five grandchildren.
Occupation: co-founder of White Fire Ministries International, Inc., a not-for-profit outreach program that started out of her home in 1987 to help people in the 1st Ward; motivational conference speaker in the United States and Kenya; pursuing a degree in clinical psychology.
Political experience: none.
Other interests: member of board of directors for Wingspread International, a North Carolina publishing firm; member of the advisory board at Quincy Catholic Charities.
Top issues:
• Streets. “Sidewalks are a big issue for me. I see kids walking to Washington School on dirt. I’ve got seniors at Lampe Hi-Rise who say they’ve been waiting 12 years to have a sidewalk replaced. We have a lot of streets with no curbing. Street trash also is an issue. It’s a health issue for the kids.”
• Safety. “We have trouble with gangs. We just had a robbery here recently three blocks from my house. I’d like to see a push for the Neighborhood Watch program. It just seemed to fizzle out. I also want an ‘Adopt A Block’ program. It’s used in other cities. Residents and organizations adopt blocks and clean up things. Our neighbors will begin to learn to care about other neighbors, and you’ll start watching out for your neighbors. We’ll send a message that we won’t tolerate crime.”
• Spending. “I’m a conservative. I ran a not-for-profit on a shoestring. I believe in volunteers, and I believe in this community, and the spending on the city budget is out of control.”
On the future of hydroelectric in Quincy:
“I’m a visionary, and I understand what they’re trying to do. I live in a neighborhood that has critical safety issues, but it’s kind of like this. I want to take a trip to Italy, and it would better me culturally, but if my roof is leaking, I need to fix my roof first before I take my trip to Italy. The city should be involved with getting the permits and studies, but I don’t think the city should be involved in running it. We need to take care of the needs we have.”
On how the city handled the firefighter controversy:
“I didn’t think it went well. The women weren’t treated fairly because of the union issues. If what they did was wrong, they should all have consequence. I would have used an inside attorney. If I’m going to spend $400,000, we have awesome attorneys in town. Let’s filter that money into our community. I almost felt like it was a black eye to our attorneys here.”
The last word:
“(LeXze) is a nickname I was given years ago. I never go by Glenda. It’s just a nickname my sister started calling me years ago. It doesn’t mean anything. We just had pet names for each other. It just kind of started as a joke. My parents don’t like it, but everybody else does.”
Age: 80
Political party: Democrat
Family: Wife Mary, children Michael, James and Bradley (deceased), six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren.
Occupation: retired; worked for Heetco for 42 years
Political experience: Completing his third four-year term as alderman; appointed to replace Gary Sparks in 1992; ran unopposed in 1997 and 2005; defeated Republican Robert Anderson 672-252 in 2001; defeated Ronald Hinkamper 644-507 in 1993.
Other interests: Member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and Fraternal Order of Eagles; worthy past president of the state of Illinois Eagles, now state secretary for all 68 Eagles clubs in state; past president of North Side Boat Club.
Top issues:
• Sidewalks. “Most of them are bricks, and they need to be replaced.”
• Streets. “This is the oldest ward in the city, and everything is old. We need a lot of stuff replaced. You can’t let it go downhill. I’ve spent a lof of ward money to keep this going. Last year, we spent $162,000 on repairs to streets, and we’ve got a lot of them earmarked in the next year. But they can’t be done until you get engineering done on it. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
• Accessibility. “I never forget to return a phone call. If you don’t call me, I don’t know what you want. I have my own cell phone, so if they call my house and I’m out doing something else, call me if you think it’s necessary to call me. That’s why I got it. I never forget to return a phone call. If you don’t return calls, it upsets people.”
On the future of hydroelectric in Quincy:
“It’s not going to happen overnight, but I’ve voted to get it this far. As far as the city of running a hydroelectric plant, I don’t think it’s necessary, but if we acquire the license, someone else can (run) it. This could take many, many years, and we need the dam repaired. (U.S. Rep. Phil) Hare said when he was here that he’s going to try to get it redone, but you know how that works.”
On how the city handled the firefighter controversy:
“I’ve been out talking with people, and only a very few people even mention it. Most of them have forgotten about it. It’s definitely not the first thing they bring up. They want to know if I’m going to fix their sidewalk or cut down that tree. When it first happened, as far as us alderman, we didn’t have any say. You have the city and the union and all that to work with. We only have a say when it’s time to pay the bills.”
The last word:
“I’ve lived in this ward for 58 years. Unless someone just moved in here, I probably know every family who lives here and their families who were here before them.”
