Why Bob McQuillan Should Be Our Next Mayor!

I never knew Bob McQuillan nor his family until I started attending School Board meetings in January 2012. I had attended a few meetings in Spring of 2011 but found them difficult to follow, and minimal people in attendance. My main reason was my increasing property taxes.

In January 2012, I tried again and began observing Bob McQuillan and a handful of other taxpayers who spoke clearly and emphatically on issues brought before the board. I asked him and the others questions after meetings and then doublechecked what they graciously would explain to me about levies, budgets and other issues. If they didn't have answers, they were great about followup.

In fact, I was so impressed with how Bob operated that I asked how I could help and thus got involved more than I ever imagined. There is nothing that I have heard Bob address that has not been factual. Has his voice been loud and has he been angry? Absolutely, and so have I! He has always had concrete, positive and well thought out suggestions to resolving issues and isn't afraid to say what many people just think.

His family is delightful, generous, and are active participants in their church and community. His three children have all graduated from Geneva schools. Bob has a great deal of energy, is very organized, decisive, and has an unbelievable talent for listening to a $80 million budget presentation and having introspective questions by the end of the presentation. 

You will see a good example of his problem-solving attitude if you watch the video of last Monday's city council meeting on Comcast channel 10. You will see a confusing city presentation of three proposals for residential garbage removal including rates. The proposals were not clear to people in the audience nor to the aldermen and much Q&A followed. No action was taken as it was intended to be informative for future council action. But, this important decision that will affect all our monthly bills needs to be understood by those who are impacted by these new rates — me and you! 

You will observe in the video that Bob suggests that the two companies that are pitching their services present their packages at a subsequent meeting. A very rational, simple idea so people can clearly understand and have input to their alderman about their choice. Bob's recommendation was to invite the representatives to present and limit each to 10 minutes. The response from the dais was something like "well, no one has stopped them from presenting" and certainly they could present if they wish. Hopefully, both companies will interpret this as an invitation to clearly state why their company should be chosen. 

Within the year's time that I have been involved, attendance at School Board meetings has increased significantly and viewing of videos on the GenevaTaxFACTS website as well as additions to the mailing list continues to increase. Most of this interest is due to taxpayers who realize that Bob has been right all along, is credible and knows his numbers. He is a natural leader, listens to input from others, and is always available. He sifts through rhetoric and obfuscation and researches and concisely plays back the impact of tedious presentations. I have yet to hear anyone refute the facts he presents. If you check out what Mr. Burns says, you’ll see that he is not a numbers man but has a real talent for acting as if he is.

What has bothered me even more is as I, and others who wish to have Bob represent us, have knocked on doors and talked to others, are the comments I hear about Burns' antics over his twelve years in office. Apparently many have observed firsthand, behavior that doesn't speak well of a town leader. It's not just a handful of disgruntled people, there are many who recite some very unprofessional actions. 

Envisioning Geneva being lead by Bob McQuillan will be a refreshing change in this town. Bob is a man with unique talents who can help keep our town a place where new, middle-aged, and older residents can afford to live. 

Sandra Ellis

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