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Last Thursday, I had my campaign kickoff for Mayor, and to the over 300 friends, family and supporters who packed Johnson’s Corner: Thank you!
As I said Thursday night: I’m running for mayor because I am tired of the incompetence. I am tired of the laziness. I’m tired of the fiscal irresponsibility and the lack of vision. It seems that whenever Alton has a plan, we have to wait 10 years for anything to happen. Enough is enough.
I grew up here, and after we were married, my wife Elyse and I raised our boys here. We can see it every day: Alton is withering on the vine. Why? It is obvious. We in Alton have suffered through 12 straight years of failed leadership by the Walker and Goins’ administrations. The road we have been on for the past 12 years only leads to further decay.
As mayor, Brant Walker ran the fiscal ship of Alton into the rocks, leaving streets filled with potholes, public spaces left neglected, citizens filled with distrust, and our city filled with lost development opportunities. That’s why Altonians kicked him out four years ago. Even Walker’s announcement video for his campaign this year was an apology to the City of Alton for what he had done, with a promise that he had learned from his mistakes and would do a better job. While unique, it is the worst way to ask for your job back.
David Goins was elected with great hope that the Walker years of incompetence and fiscal idiocy were behind us. But sadly, Goins has proved to be completely lacking in vision or energy for the job. We need a mayor who is brimming with new ideas and energy, who knows this city and its government well, and who can actually get things done for our city.
I pledge to you that I will be that mayor. Together, with my visionary leadership, we can climb out of the chaos that the last 12 years has saddled Alton with, to get Alton back on track.
I’m not a politician, I’m a businessman. But my four years on the Alton City Council have given me an inside look at the wreck that our city government has become. It will not be easy, but I have a plan to get us back on track. I will be writing more about specific aspects of my platform over these next months, but let me start with three of my key priorities:
PUBLIC SAFETY: I will prioritize public safety first, giving our police officers more tools and more funding, not less, so we can make every neighborhood safer. Despite attempts to downplay the unprecedented crime in Alton over the past twelve years, the reality is stark. At my kick-off event, I shared a statistic that Alton is less safe than 95% of all other cities in the United States (Source:https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Alton-Illinois.html). Shockingly, just a day after my event, three people were shot underscoring the urgent need for change. I have pointed out weak mayoral leadership as a conduit to our high crime rate. To effectively reduce crime, we must be proactive.
IMPROVING OUR STREETS AND OUR ECONOMY: To succeed, we must prioritize our infrastructure and streets, creating a solid foundation for economic development. By investing in these areas, we can fill empty storefronts with businesses and bring life and vibrancy to our community. As a businessman, I know how terrible dealing with the city has been for businesses over the past 12 years. Other cities in our region are running circles around us. That must change. If there is a business that wants to open or expand in Alton, as Mayor, I will be their first phone call. I will roll out the red carpet and get our community moving again.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: We need transparency about our government and where our tax dollars are going. I will publish every dollar and cent that our city government spends every year online. I will make sure we are planning for the future, running a conservative and responsible government, rather than kicking the can down the road like we’ve been doing for 12 years. Additionally, I will do everything in my power to keep the Alton property tax rate where it is, ensuring that our residents are not burdened with higher taxes.
Over the next few months, I will be meeting as many Altonians as possible, trying to earn each and every one of your vote. And I will be describing to you my vision for our wonderful city, which I hope, can truly unite us for a brighter future.
See you soon!
Ray Strebel