Richard Garcia

On the Record

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to run for election or re-election?

I decided to run for office because i care about my town and would like to contribute my time to try to better the future of our town.

The village has struggled just like other communities to keep its budget balanced amid the economic slowdown. What steps do you believe the village should take to make sure it finds firm financial footing? Are there specific village programs or line items that you believe need to be cut or eliminated?

The village is in good shape financially, but i do think we need to hold back on any new homes until the housing market picks up again and we can better afford anything new.n

What do you believe are the most pressing issues facing the village of Elburn in the next four years?

The Shodeen subdivision and the Anderson bridge are the biggest issues facing are town at this point.

In the past decade, Elburn's population more than doubled. In more recent years, however, that growth has all but stopped. What is your outlook for the village's future? Do you believe, for instance, that the village needs to rework its comprehensive plan to reflect slower population growth in the future?

I think the village board has to keep the growth slower, and also letting businesses grow along with the population or at least try to keep a balance between the two.

Shodeen Inc.'s Elburn Station development proposal has generated some controversy among Elburn residents in the past few months. What is your opinion of that development proposal? Are there elements of the plan that concern you?

Yes i think that the plan should not have the population of people to dense and also i am against there being apartments and alleys , because the question i have is who is going to plow them and it also looks bad. Another thing is that the drinking water would be in underground tanks thats not a good idea because the winter and summer the ground is always shifting and could cause the tanks to brake, contaminating the water. let's not be cheap Shodeen needs to spend the money to build the towers, so let's do the job right.

How important to Elburn's future do you believe the extension of Anderson Road and the accompanying construction of a bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks is?

As far as the Anderson bridge i think we need to get more input from the residents, there are to many questions about the bridge, and many of the residents of blackberry are not happy about that they are against it altogether.

Experience

I graduated from Wheaton Central High school in 1983 and then went on to College of Du page taking auto technology and now i work at Wheaton College as an Auto mechanic for the past 27 years.