Why I'm Running

It has been a little over a month since I announced my candidacy for trustee. Since that time I was targeted to be thrown off the ballot, I have been ridiculed and encouraged. Some people get excited to hear that a young person like myself is running, others say I am not serious. The latter often confuses me, I have limited myself to a part-time education this semester and dumped $1,000 of my savings in to win this race. Though it is hard to prove to someone why I am serious when they don't understand why I am running.

Ever been out of town and someone asks “where are you from?”, to which you answer “Chicago!” Far too often suburban communities and their residents have a disconnect and the town is relegated to another cookie-cutter suburb. I grew up in Glenview biking along its roads, visiting its businesses, and playing in its parks. Most of Glenview’s youth leave to college and will never return. Many Glenview residents do not feel a connection to the community we all live in.

I am running because Glenview can be better. Glenview can be a destination, not just an origin. Glenview can be a vibrant and socially diverse community. However, it requires new and creative ideas that we are lacking. It demands a new generation of thinkers, not just the same old status quo. It necessitates an apolitical approach, not a social agenda.

As a 19-year-old, I can bring to the village board the creativity that it so desperately lacks. I can offer new ideas from my studies of urban planning and public policy. I can utilize the experience of growing up in Glenview and being apart of new generation. As an independent, I can offer nonpartisan policy ideas to drive Glenview's growth.

I am running against a slate that is apart of a party that has run Glenview for the past 18 years. In that time we have seen stability, but little to no growth. I am running because I want to offer this community a chance to become something more, to be a leader in the suburbs and not a follower. To try new ideas, to be innovative, and to be spectacular.

So I ask for your support to help Glenview build a more vibrant and lively downtown, to ensure the natural environment is conserved, and to make Glenview home for all. Together, we can build a better community.

- Benjamin Polony, Candidate for Glenview Trustee