Jotham Stein Announces St. Charles Mayoral Bid

A second candidate has emerged in the race for St. Charles mayor in the spring 2013 election.

Jotham Stein, a nationally known business lawyer and author, announced his candidacy in a release issued Monday.

He becomes the second candidate for the office following St. Charles Mayor Donald DeWitte’s announcement in August that he would not seek a third term. Two weeks later, 3rd Ward Alderman Raymond Rogina became the only sitting member of the City Council to announce his candidacy for mayor.

In Geneva, Mayor Kevin Burns announced he will seek re-election, and no candidates have made announcements to challenge him.

In the release announcing Stein's St. Charles candidacy, Stein said his top priority will be to bring businesses into our city.

"We have a fantastic community, but throughout our city, we have lost businesses and the jobs and tax revenue they represent. From Charlestowne Mall in the east to First Street Downtown to the old St. Charles Mall in the west, many of our storefronts and office complexes are empty. The more businesses we attract to St. Charles, the more jobs we will create, and since businesses pay taxes, the lower the taxes we residents will have to pay.”

Stein said in the release that he has provided business and legal advice to companies for more than 20 years, and he believes he can bring that experience to the office of mayor to benefit the city of St. Charles.

“Instead of seeing businesses leave St. Charles or close altogether, as mayor, I will actively recruit new business investment to St. Charles, nurture start-up businesses, and help businesses that are here but struggling,” he said in the release.

“My other priorities are to make sure we continue to have high quality city services, to make sure taxes don’t go up, and to make sure we are the most ethical municipal government in Illinois,” Stein said.

“Strong ethics and a great business environment go hand-in-hand,” Stein said in the release. “On my first day in office, I am going to propose that the City Council pass an ordinance that provides: ‘The mayor shall do no business with anybody who does business with the city.’ ”

A 5th Ward resident, Stein is married to Victoria; they have a son, Gershon, who attends Richmond Intermediate School.

Stein’s release notes he is a business lawyer with offices on 3rd Street in St. Charles as well as in Chicago and Silicon Valley, California.

“I am proud to have invested in downtown by moving my business to a historic building a block from the Blue Goose and renovating it,” Stein said in the release. “As mayor, when I go out to recruit companies to move to our city, the businesses will see the love I have for our community and that I have done exactly what I am asking them to do — invest here.”

His release notes that Stein is the author of a recent book on negotiation, Executive Employment Law: Protecting Executives, Entrepreneurs and Employees, published by Oxford University Press in 2011, available at Amazon.com.

Stein ran for mayor in 2009, according to the release, about which he said, “I was truly honored that so many voted for me in the last mayoral election. It has been my dream to serve our community. This time, I’m hoping the people of St. Charles will give me the nod.”