Mary Rosinski, 65, a real estate broker and community activist, is seeking to become alderman of Evanston’s 7th Ward.
Rosinski and incumbent 7th Ward Alderman Eleanor Revelle were interviewed about their views on major issues by Evanston Now’s Jeff Hirsh.
Rosinski, who owns a two-flat at 1729 Chancellor St., also offered the following information on her background and what she views as the key issues in the campaign in response to an Evanston Now questionnaire.
Background
I have lived, worked and raised five children in the 7th Ward over the past 30 years. In that time I have been actively involved in my community, at the school and in many ward and city issues collaborating with resident for better Evanston or uniting to get involved when the City Council has been unresponsive or irresponsible as in the decision to give = Northwestern the right to have commercial uses in a non-profit university, or getting us into a 23-year debt for a recreation center that will cost over $3,000,000 for the next 21 years + operating cost.
I love our city and being involved is my way of showing it and in the process I have been lucky to meet thousandss of other residents who feel the same way. Our residents are our greatest asset — they are creative, hardworking and willing to tackle a problem.
Organizations I am proud to have been a founding member were created out of need in our city were, Central Street Neighbors, Evanston Public Library Friends, NoParkSale, Dajae Coleman Foundation, Save Harley Clarke, Friends of Gilbert Park, Evanstonians for A Responsible Robert Crown Plan. And I was not a founding member but proud to have been a member and former chair of Evanston Police and Fire Foundation,
I have been a full time real estate broker representing Evanston and other North Shore clients for over 40 years, am a member of the North Shore Board of Realtors and am a member of the Government Affairs Committee and Chair of the Diversity and Fair Housing Committee.
My work and the children have brought me into almost every aspect of community life, seeing the wonderful attributes of Evanston as well as the needs we have as a community. The experience working with people in all walks of life creates an understanding of people and the need to be able to ask the right questions in order to end up at the right place.
Real Estate is a problem solving profession which involves financial and social challenges and as a broker my job is to help clients figure them out. As a parent who worked, I know the challenges that juggling work and family create and how the cost of living can mean saying no to lots of things.
I bring an understanding what our community needs to have to be welcoming and engaging and realize there is so much I need to learn and will reach out to seek information on issues.
Key issues
Trust: There is lack of confidence in our city government which exists in Evanston and it has been building for years. More than ever people are not feeling heard, or that policies and decisions are equitable or as responsive as they should be. We need to rebuild trust in our government and processes and have real transparency not just say it and all policies and decisions must be equity based.
- We need to operate on a long term comprehensive plan and commit to follow it. This plan would be the result of open town hall meetings to discuss the strategic goals.
- I would work with colleagues and staff to create a balanced budget to meet our goals, The budget deficit is the result of spending money on projects we don’t need or can’t afford and then mismanaging them, the result is critical money is wasted. We need to look at which communities are doing thing well and ask how can we do better.
- Economic Development. All or our business districts are essential to the neighborhoods they support. We need to continue to be creative and innovative with how we support the districts and bring people to our city to generate tax dollars.
- Affordable housing. We need to have an affordable housing plan which has measurable goals that are easily understood and design a means of achieving those goals which are not reliant on developers.
- Public spaces must be preserved and maintained. Our lakefront, parks, public buildings and other space are the building blocks of our neighborhoods. These are elements which brings people to Evanston to choose to live and pay taxes. They are are valuable assets and can act as economic generators for our city.
- Northwestern. We must work with the University to be a responsible fair share partner. With 242 acres of tax-exempt property they are the largest private property owner in the city.
Website and social media
Campaign website, Facebook campaign page, Twitter, Linkedin.