WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!  
Matt Bogusz for Mayor of Des Plaines

 

DearFriends and Neighbors of the 8th Ward,

My nameis Jim Vinci, and my wife Julie and our boys have lived in Des Plaines for 26years.   The reason for my letter is torequest your support and join our family in electing Matt Bogusz for Mayor of Des Plaines on Tuesday, April 9th.  If you are a new resident of our ward, I amsharing this letter with you so that you can make an informed decision aboutthe candidate you put in office.  I am deeplyconcerned that the progress we have made in getting attention to the floodingproblems in our ward will be lost if either Tony Arredia or Mark Walsten iselected mayor.  

Duringhis term as alderman, Matt has brought integrity, passion, and fresh thinking topublic office and has demonstrated consistency in his positions on issues, and anability to solve challenging problems, listen to others, and communicate withhis constituents.  His work as FinanceCommittee Chairman has led to a significantly improved financial position forthe City.  Many of you may not realizethat because Matt invited representatives from the Metropolitan WaterReclamation District (MWRD) to his 3rd ward meeting, I was able to meet thesepeople and learn that they were willing to work with the City to alleviate theflooding problems in our ward.  Thanks toMatt’s proactive efforts, work for this project has been funded and will beginin 2014.

If youwatched the mayoral debate, then you heard all three candidates talk about the importanceof the City continuing to invest in flood mitigation and infrastructureimprovements.  However, for Mr. Arrediaand Mr. Walsten, this is nothing more than political rhetoric.  Instead, Matt Bogusz is a man whose actionsback his words. He initiated engineering studies which pinpointed causes offlooding for residents in his ward and subsequently obtained the funding tocomplete the recommended work.   He alsovoted to accelerate the Stormwater Management Master Plan at a time when otheraldermen, including Mark Walsten, were undecided on the matter.  Accelerating this plan was important in tworespects.  First, it meant that stormsewer work scheduled for our ward would begin sooner rather than later.  Second, and more importantly, it helped to elevatethe importance of a problem which affects many residents, not only in our ward,but throughout the City of Des Plaines. Neighborhoods with recurring flooding will bear lower property values,higher costs for homeowners insurance, eventual insurance cancellations fromrepeated flood claims, and potential health problems from contaminated water.

Anyonewho has lived in the 8th ward for as long as my family has will remember thatTony Arredia was our alderman before he became mayor.  For many years, I worked hard to get Mr.Arredia and the rest of our city officials to address and find solutions to theflooding problems in our ward and to update the antiquated storm and sanitarysewer infrastructure, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.  During his terms of office, Mr. Arredia did absolutely NOTHING toremedy the flooding problems in our ward. Now he is asking to be our mayor again!

If Mr.Bogusz is elected mayor, he has indicated that he will work to support furtherflood improvements.   But he also plansto do something no other mayor of Des Plaines has attempted to do ─ take the self-interest out of City Hall, improve ethics policies,and establish accountability.  This isexactly the type of change that our community needs.  If you agree, then I ask you to show yoursupport and vote for Matt Bogusz asMayor of Des Plaines on Tuesday, April 9th.
 

Sincerely,
Jim