Robert Mann

On the Record

What experiences do you have that make you a good candidate for office?

Forty-four year career in active practice of law. Fifteen year membership on Board of Education (St. Charles.) Chairman, Geneva Economic Development Commission. Six years co-facilitator, Geneva Learners/ World Affairs discussion group. Twenty-one year Geneva resident. Regular, frequent user of Geneva Public library services.

What are your top two or three priorities if elected?

Not necessarily in rank order: (1) Help move the District away from the Cetron-property/future building bond referendum oriented strategy for expansion toward a more nearly realistic plan based on actual needs and realistic prospects. Make better use of existing space and existing expansion possibilities. (2) Expand library services to community members who are retired or approaching retirement,starting and pursuing second careers,needing help finding further education opportunities appropriate to their needs and interests,seeking assistance acquiring and perfecting IT skills, and/or those wishing to access library materials relevant to post-retirement pursuits of all kinds. Existing GPLD services are quite weak or non-existent in this area and the present Board has no plans for improvement. (3) Revisualizing the GPLD as a community learning and cultural center sponsoring lectures, film series, travel and book groups that will attract a wider patronage than it does currently. (4) Curtail drastically the practice of conducting business in closed session.

Would you support freezing your taxing district’s levy until housing prices rebound? Why or why not?

No. The GPLD levy should be raised or lowered or repeated (a) within the limits set by law, (b) pursuat to applicable rate referenda and (c) in line with budgeted needs as determined by the elected Board after holding public hearings and considering recommendations from the staff and from the public. Arbitrary limitations and conditions are unworkable in the real world.

What one decision by the board do you most disagree with and why?

The interrelated decision to focus attention on a hopelessly ill-advised and unrealistic long-term plan for building a new library building on the former Cetron property and in turn entirely to avoid giving productive attention to needs for modernizing and extending library services to underserved members of the community. Public libraries are essential to maintenance of a free and productive society. Yet the system of free public libraries is being stressed by various forces including the Internet.This Board must redirect its focus to the matter of how to make our library more nearly responsive to contemporary needs of the many different elements of the community now and in the near term. Focus on long-term plan that has little or no chance of success at all, much less now or in the immediate future, wastes the resources and human energy needed in order to save the library and make it currently relevant.

What was the biggest accomplishment of the board in the past year?

The Board had no significant accomplishment during the past year.

Why should voters elect you to office?

The voters should elect me because I have the knowedge, experience, time,energy and vision to redirect the Board’s resources toward making the GPLD a vibrant community learning center regarded by all as an important part of their individual and community lives. I will take great care to ensure than resources are used efficiently to that end and to see to it that the Board functions with much more community input and transparency than it has in the past.