About Mario J. VanDerHeyden

Name: Mario J. VanDerHeyden

Position sought: City of St. Charles 3rd Ward Alderman

Campaign contact information: mariovanderheyden@yahoo.com

Ward 3, St. Charles, IL 60174

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

The consensus I personally extracted through one on one conversation’s over several months of walking and driving through our community revealed these three main issues:

• Charlestowne Mall revival
• Traffic volume and safety
• Lean value of city services compared to Taxes spent
• Charlestowne Mall revival will be my primary focus as requested by the 3rd Ward residents.

Home address: Ward 3, St. Charles, IL 60174

Family members: Wife Amanda VanDerHeyden

Daughter Gabriella VanDerHeyden 3

Daughter Noelle VanDerHeyden 1

Education: St. Charles High School 1991

Northern Illinois University College of Business 1997

B.S. operations management information systems (OMIS)

Minor economics

Current occupation and employer: Transportation manager,Medline Industries Inc.

Logistics manager, Schnadig Furniture

Buyer/traffic analyst, Plexco Pipe, Chevron Chemical

Pricing analyst, GENEX LP

Laborer, Tony's Heating and Cooling

Political party affiliation: Independent

Why Are You Seeking Office?

I am seeking the office of 3rd Ward Alderman for the opportunity to give back to St. Charles, and help improve our community.The residents are the collective boss.The extra incentive was born from the communication disconnect our neighborhood felt from the city council’s actions regarding the Lexington development the past four years.This perception must be reversed.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

My youth, energy, and longevity in St. Charles are my unique attributes in comparison to my opponent.I am confident I will be a stronger mouthpiece for 3rd Ward residents through active monthly personal conversation and participation.

Issue 1: What is your ecomonic development strategy for the city of St. Charles?

Retail resuscitation, auto sales, light manufacturing, and small business will drive our local economy.I believe in managed residential growth that fits our community, and satisfies our housing needs. My ancestors came to St. Charles Belgium town for jobs at the foundry. My father sustained our family with his own small business in St. Charles. An educated workforce, proximity to road and rail, and flexible business parameters are our assets. I am determined to keep St. Charles a community to live, work, and play within.

Issue 2: In light of the anger over the Lexington Club controversy, what steps would you take to restore trust in city government? To increase transparency?

Our city is in need of an actionable ethics policy, and I am looking forward to sharing our resident’s ideas with sitting council members.I will be a strong advocate for the 3rd Ward’s collective voice, and will proactively seek community opinion while sharing all available data. This is in contrast to 20MB files from the Freedom of Information Act regarding the Lexington development with names redacted.

Issue 3: What steps would you take to help resolve the complaints of alcohol-related problems in the downtown area?

The perception of downtown problems directly related to alcohol needs to be assessed squarely with historical data from the St. Charles Police Department and liquor license holders.I live with my wife and two daughters four blocks from the core of St. Charles nightlife. We accept cars will park in front of our home and normal voices will sound louder on evening sidewalks. The trade-off is walking to feed ducks on the river, see live music, dine well, play in parks, attend church, and school.I agree improvement should always be our goal. Let’s do it fairly with an open dialogue. The liquor license holders are providing an additional revenue stream to our community and we should work together improve the downtown St. Charles experience.

Please add any other information pertinent to your campaign.

I am a product of the St. Charles community. My Grandma Damen arrived here in 1908, and the VanDerHeyden family arrived here from Belgium in 1950.My family is an active member of the St. Patrick Parish. I have remained in St. Charles while commuting over 2.5 hours each day for the last 15 years. I am a fiscal conservative, and believe fiscal responsibility is paramount in all elected offices. I have experience managing people, controlling costs, multi-million dollar contracts and special projects, and maximizing revenue.