Mark Mulliner: Candidate for Elmhurst Mayor

Campaign Information
www.mulliner4mayor.com
mark@mullilner4mayor.com

Family: Wife, Barb Mulliner; son, Jason Mulliner; daughter, Amanda (Mandi) Martinez; son-in-law, Juan Martinez 

My immediate family is not involved with any government work. I run a School Information Technology Consulting Service that works with school districts across the State of Illinois.  I do not have any contracts with Elmhurst schools.

Education: York High School, Northern Illinois University—B.S. Education

Occupation: President, School Technology Services

Civic:

City of Elmhurst

• 7th Ward alderman
• Committee member - Public Affairs and Safety 
• Vice-chairman - Public Affairs and Safety 
• Chairman - Public Affairs and Safety
• Committee member - Finance, Council Affairs and Administrative Services
• Committee member - City, Park and School District Committee

Elmhurst Public Library

• Former Library Board trustee (six years)
• Former Vice-chairman of the Facilities Committee
• Former chairman of the Facilities Committee

Why Are You Seeking Office?

I am running for mayor because we need to restore integrity to our process. We need to truly embrace transparency and intergovernmental cooperation among our intergovernmental partners. We need to promote civility by reaching out to those who dissent.

The unique skill set I bring to government is that I listen; that I reach out to others to find common ground. If you go to my website, you will see that I have concrete plans and proposals to improve city government and the quality of life here in Elmhurst. That is what sets me apart; my agenda is public. What you see on my website and in the answers here are my beliefs; they have not been tested on a focus group.They are my beliefs on how a good transparent government should conduct its business. 

The city of Elmhurst is a $100 million business that employs professionals to carry out its daily business. The city manager’s office should not be the place where aldermen congregate to micro-manage the business of our city. The mayor’s office should not become a hub for patronage appointments to the various commissions. Nor should it be a place where up-and-coming politicians test the waters to see if another elected office is in the cards.

My goal is simple; it is transparent. It is make Elmhurst city government work for the benefit of all people. It is to work and plan with our intergovernmental partners, not to force a plan upon them. It is to make Elmhurst the favored destination based on having great schools, safe streets, beautiful parks and the finest institutions. 

What will be your highest priority if elected?

Restoring trust and professionalism to the City Council.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

Leadership. All through 2012 I was the lone voice on the City Council to promote the discussion and implementation of the ballot question to oppose dual-elected positions in Elmhurst. Even though I was in the minority on the Finance Committee, I worked constructively with the other committee members to advance this on the city’s agenda. And even though I started out as a lone voice, at the very end, the City Council unanimously approved my minority report. More importantly, when finally given a say on the matter, the voters of Elmhurst supported my dual-duty initiative, voting by an overwhelming 77 percent to outlaw this unethical practice.

Integrity. Recently, I led the dialogue to challenge late-term commission appointments by the outgoing mayor. I also support the reforms proposed by Alderman Dannee Polomsky that mandate a clear and unambiguous process for retaining and appointing qualified Elmhurst citizens to serve on the various commissions. I support a wholesale overhaul of the current system. If elected, I will institute a “merit” based system for all appointments. As mayor of Elmhurst, I will also reform the role that the mayor plays as liquor commissioner by proposing a Liquor Commission. This will end the conflicts of interest that are inherent where one person solicits campaign contributions from the same people over whom he has enforcement power.

Vision. In my 14 years of public service, I have always held the line on excessive and irresponsible taxation. I have always promoted fiscal responsibility, understanding that city fund balances cannot be compromised based on election-year politics. Two years ago, in 2010, the position of some on the City Council was that it was "dangerous" not to raise the levy close to the maximum amount. Now, in an election year just 18 months later, under the misleading guise of “returning money to the taxpayers,” some candidates have made an about face, voting to reduce city fund balances to irresponsibly low levels.

Now that Elmhurst Memorial Hospital’s tax exempt status is going to be retroactively re-instated, the city now is considering re-evaluating its levy.  All along, I was one the few aldermen who understood that the city had to approve an increased levy, and impound those funds, or else Elmhurst homeowners would be forced to make up the difference.

Experience. As a successful small business owner, I know about budgeting, spending within resource means, and working for my clients to achieve economies of scale. My experience in the information technology field gives me a unique perspective on ways that all local governments can share resources and save Elmhurst taxpayers money. For years, I served with distinction as a trustee of our nationally renowned Elmhurst Public Library. I have also worked closely and successfully with the School Board and the Library Board and Park Board when all institutions faced challenging referendum and challenging financial issues.

Solutions. As mayor, I am dedicated to the concept that Elmhurst is run efficiently and transparently, as a $100 million business.  Like any business, the city should seek out operating efficiencies and economies of scale by partnering more closely with other units of local government:

As your mayor I believe all of the city’s commissions and committees will have to be staffed with qualified, civic minded and independent Elmhurst residents, not those who are friends, cronies or campaign contributors.

As mayor, I will look to our city staff to explore ways to sensibly reform our city and fire code in order to promote growth and business development. We need to keep our current services in place and find ways to promote economic growth without asking individual homeowners to subsidize the business community.

The city’s infrastructure and flooding problems will not be solved unless we can successfully partner with the largest landowners in Elmhurst (the School District and the Park District). Those two institutions have not been invited to the table to discuss the important city development issues such as the recent TIF 4. When elected your mayor, my first 100 days will be dedicated toward the goal that our city will once again become a good and dedicated partner with those institutions. We will plan with them in advance for the common good.

What is your vision of the future of Elmhurst and how would you work toward making that vision a reality? 

I pledge to serve out my entire term as mayor. I will not run for any other state or county office either during my first term or after my first term. The job as your mayor is not a stepping stone for me; I have no political ambitions to any higher office. My ambitions are clear and that is to be doing what is best for Elmhurst, and only Elmhurst, as your mayor.

I pledge to promote economic growth in Elmhurst by focusing not just on luring new businesses, but by retaining and growing the ones we already have. As mayor, I pledge not to raise sales taxes, or create new taxes, for the businesses that call Elmhurst home.

I pledge to appoint only qualified Elmhurst citizens for the important jobs that our city commissions and committees do. Individuals interested in serving on commissions will submit written applications. I pledge to run a professional city government where Cook County style and Springfield style patronage has no seat at the table. Illinois is broke. That is not a model Elmhurst should follow because I, Mark Mulliner, pledge to and will provide an Elmhurst solution.

For our important city services, such as engineering, law or consulting, I pledge to hire only the highest qualified professionals. And I pledge that one of several important factors in the decision to contract with Elmhurst will be whether the service providers have an office in, or a residential connection to, the city of Elmhurst. My pledge is an Elmhurst solution that works for all 44,976 Elmhurst citizens.

I pledge to bring before the City Council a plan to reform the mayor’s role as liquor commissioner. A plan for a five-person, public liquor commission will be brought before City Council in the first 100 days of my first term as your mayor. This commission will have jurisdiction over the granting and revoking of liquor and tobacco licenses in the City of Elmhurst. My plan will remove the abuses and even the appearance of a conflict of interest in reviewing liquor applications and administering hearings for ordinance violations. An Elmhurst solution at its best!

How do you see the role of mayor in Elmhurst’s city manager style of government?

The city of Elmhurst is a $100 million business and it should be run like one.  The City Council is the board of directors, with the mayor as the chairman of the board. They have the job to set policy, make sure that the professional staff understands the policies, and to make sure that the professional staff has the resources to implement the policy. 

It is not the job of the City Council or mayor to weigh in on the day to day operations of the city. Those responsibilities fall to the city manager and his staff. As the mayor, I will work closely with the city manager but I will not micro-manage the day to day operations.

How would you improve transparency in city government?

First and foremost, we need to restore professionalism to City Council meetings. However, more importantly, we need to restore the public give and take to committee meetings. We need for the committee process to be more open to citizens; to return to the process that they observed when I was chairman and before that. When I’m mayor, I will insure that as required by law, we will have the public comment item on every agenda, as well as requiring that all committee chairmen open the floor to questions, comments and debate with any committee member who attends a committee meeting who wants to be in on the discussion.

As an alderman, what was your most significant contribution to the city of Elmhurst?

Over the years I have supported many important initiatives on behalf of the people in my ward. I have worked diligently to press Com Ed for reliable power service. I have worked with city staff towards implementing storm water mitigation for our homeowners. And I have always supported the integrity of our city budget against efforts to raid fund balances for short political advantage.

However, last summer our city was faced with a crisis of ethical leadership.   The process of getting the dual-duty question before the Elmhurst voters was long and arduous and I have many passionate citizens to thank. Leading the referendum and outlaw of this unethical practice is a contribution that I will always be proud of.   

Are there things you can accomplish as mayor that you could not accomplish as an alderman? What?

Yes, I will lead by example. As the person who runs City Council meetings, I will restore the City Council to the professional operation that it should be. I will reform the commission appointments process. I will reform the Liquor Commission by running the meetings following the rules set forth in the city’s codes. I will return the committee meeting to the open collaborative process it was designed to be.

What other message do you want to get across to Elmhurst voters?

Elmhurst is my life long home; I live a couple of blocks away from where I was born and raised. After graduating from Northern, I returned to Elmhurst, married my sweetheart, Barb, and then raised our children, Jason and Amanda, here. In my younger days, I coached boys and girls gymnastics at York.

I love Elmhurst and the people who live here and call this city home. Since the early 1980s, I have been attending City Council meetings and working to make Elmhurst a better place. I sat on the Elmhurst Library Board for six years, before running for alderman of the 7th Ward. For the past 14 years, I have been working as an alderman to help the city maintain its traditions as well as moving us forward into the 21st century.

I know there are a number of issues that continue to need to be addressed in the years to come, most importantly the issue of stormwater management. We need to make sure that the city provides the core items of infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, water and sewers as well as to provide a level playing field to promote opportunities for economic development in the city, thus increasing the tax base with the plan to keep homeowners taxes low.

Elmhurst is a city that I am proud to call home.  We need to be inviting to the newest residents and work to make sure that those among us who came before us and made Elmhurst what it is should be able to stay in Elmhurst after they retire.