Evanston Mayoral Election 2017: Q/A With Gary Gaspard

EVANSTON, IL - With five candidates seeking to replace the retiring Elizabeth Tisdahl as mayor of the city of Evanston, a primary election will be held on Feb. 28. If one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the April 4 general election will be deemed unnecessary. If a majority is not reached, the top two vote getters will pair in a runoff.

Seeking the highest governmental office in Evanston in 2017 are five candidates: Brian Miller, Steve Hagerty, Gary Gaspard, Jeffrey Smith and Mark Tendam. With men making up all of the contenders, the city is guaranteed to elect its first male mayor since Jay Lytle in 1981.

The roots of the mayoral race in Evanston this year include a number of challenges in which multiple candidates have filed objections to the candidacy of others. A full rundown of the "drama" in the race and its timeline is detailed in this North by Northwestern piece that was released in January. The end result was that all five candidates seeking the mayoralty were allowed to run.

Evanston Patch asked all of the candidates the same set of 12 questions in early February, with responses coming through email. Here are the responses from candidate Gary Gaspard, an Evanston resident and faculty advisor at Northeastern Illinois University .

• What is the most pressing issue facing the city in 2017?

To run for mayor of Evanston, I was drafted by a few prominent citizens. Before accepting the draft, I went on a listening tour. During my listening tour on the campaign trail, I really appreciate what I had learned from the voters. Most voters care about what's ahead of us, for Evanston's future, after our beloved Mayor Tisdahl leaves office. Voters are more concerned about critical issues that affect their families and communities, such as community safety and relations with police, as well as community and economic development. The voters concerning issues also include diversity and inclusion (fair and equitable treatment for all), youth violence prevention, property tax hike, affordable housing for low-income families, as well as protecting undocumented immigrants from Donald Trump's mass deportation, as registry of Muslim immigrants or citizens, as accountability to Black Lives Matter and more. I vow to work tirelessly for citizens of Evanston and committed to fighting for pressing issues and bringing results of policies that not only make positive impact on our community, but also expand opportunity and prosperity for all Evanstonians.

• As mayor, what is something you’d like to change immediately?

As mayor, I pledge to make Evanston affordable, diverse and inclusive by reducing property tax.

However, as soon as I become mayor, I will fight to keep the youth off the street, improve police-community relations, and put a stop to discrimination against minorities, particularly against African-American, Latino, Muslim and LGBTQ residents, as well as embracing the Black Lives Matter movement. Additionally, I vow to join those who challenge the recreation of Muslim registry and uphold the Evanston’s Sanctuary City Status, promising to protect undocumented immigrants threatened by Trump’s mass deportation plan.

• What would you like to see done with the Harley Clarke Mansion?

First and foremost, I am firmly against to privatize public spaces (period). With that said, because of the affects to public employees, transparency, and service accessibility to all citizens after privatization, I’m against privatizing public spaces like the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, the Recycling Center, the Library parking lot, and the Harley Clarke Mansion.

In regards of the Harley Clarke Mansion, as the last proposal approved by the City Council last year, I would like to see the Mansion be restored for public use and house some city programs.

• What are your thoughts on the Dodge Avenue bike lane and how the city has catered to bicyclists in recent years?

We all understand and most of us agree that Evanston is a bike friendly city. Having the city committed some bicycle lanes for cyclists to ride bikes safely, it demonstrates how dedicated the city is to helps promote human health safety, such as a healthier and more environmentally friendly way to travel, as studies show. Hence, having dedicated bike lanes on Dodge Avenue for cyclists to ride helps move bike traffic off the sidewalks and onto the streets. So, I’m all for it.

• How would you address the crime problem facing some neighborhoods in Evanston?

Community/Neighborhood Safety: Equal Justice & Protection Under the law. Under my leadership, I want a stop to discrimination against minorities, especially against African-American, Latino residents and others. I also want to make Evanston a safer and friendlier place for the LGBTQ community.

But one thing that I can guarantee the people of Evanston that, under my administration, police brutality and rushing to the judgement will not be accepted or tolerated in Evanston. Everyone knows that I am a candidate of serve and protect. Therefore, law and order will only be applied when it's necessary, not the first law enforcement's approach. I will put police accountability and commitment to community policing to the top of my priorities. Again, I vow to focus on commitment and accountability to community policing and Black Lives Matter.

I really appreciate the question about gun violence. Under Gun Violence and Public Safety, Hagerty states in his Website “...in the wake of the September 11th attacks, I gained even deeper admiration for the courage and skill of those who risk their lives to keep communities safe. Our police officers, firefighters, and other first responders are our first line of defense against all types of violence and, as Mayor, I will ensure they have the resources they need to keep us safe.”

I think Hagerty’s approach to solving gun violence in our community is very dangerous. It is important to know that stopping a crime like 911 is not at the hands of local police officers. It's FBI and/or secret service agency's responsibility. Therefore, we cannot treat gun violence in our community like a terrorist act. Rather, it needs to be treated as a public health crisis.

In several candidate forums, both Tandem and Smith demonstrate that gun violence is not a major issue for them to talk about. Miller finds gun violence to be a major issue. However, he wants to be tough on police. Both views will not bring a position to the pressing issue of community safety/gun violence.

Now, what’s my view regarding the issue? I personally believe that we cannot fight violence with violence and we cannot fight crime without economic development. With that said, I will not give police more weapons to combat violence. I believe that job creation and workforce development would be a key to mitigating gun violence in the community. And I tend to focus specifically on helping low-income Evanston families get on a path toward economic self-sufficiency.

Meanwhile, under my administration, police officers will be held accountable for their actions. However, to reduce gun violence in our community, I plan to focus on improving police-community relations by establishing better relations between the city's police department and residents, particularly youth.

When it comes to the issue of Black Lives Matter movement, I don’t think I need to remind you about the unfortunate trend that has been happening around the country lately – that young black men’s lives are taken away at the hands of police – lucky us. This hasn’t happened in our town.

However, what I see is that the police dealing with racial issue sometimes is a paradigm shift. The paradigm shift is that – whereas a police officer sees a young Black male as a threat to our society (or to him/herself) or a young Black male sees a police officer as an exterminator to wipe out the Black men community – this got to change. We cannot tolerate or accept either perspective.

As mayor, I will fight for equal justice under the law. Again, as above stated, I would want law enforcement officers to approach every situation first with a perspective of Serve and Protect. Then, exercise Law and Order approach to prevent a crime as needed.

Applying every situation with a humanistic perspective would definitely save lives - That this young man is somebody else loved one. His family is waiting for him – ‘Not a big Black dude’ because black lives matter. Likewise, young black men need to know that law enforcement officers are just doing their job when they are stopped by police.

Then again, what I want to do is for our police department to build a strong partnership with low- income communities and neighborhoods. Trying to change the paradigm shift - that's why I embrace the Black Lives Matter movement. I am glad to see that most Evanston voters share our views.

• There’s been a perceived disconnect between the Evanston Police Department and the city’s African-American community. How much of a problem is this and what solution would you offer?

Please see above answer of the previous question that addresses this one.

• We’ve seen a few businesses open and close in a short time frame downtown. What is the key to not only attracting businesses to Evanston but keeping them here as well?

I think that we need to conduct a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to examine and identify the strengths and weaknesses of factors that make businesses come and go. We also have to look into the business practice of our neighboring to find out how small businesses have been doing. Meanwhile, I’ll be open to offer business training to prospective business people on how to run their businesses in a town like ours.

First and foremost, I disagree with the conclusion of the question – that “Evanston is known as a progressive leader…” Yes, upon the eerie outcome of the last presidential election, most candidates in this municipal mayoral election have referred to themselves as progressive candidates. So, progressive politics is becoming a bit more cliché in this Evanston mayoral election. Having said that, let’s see who is the real progressive in this race. Back in March 2016, I was a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders in the primary election. Then, in November, I proudly cast for Hillary Clinton. Ask the other candidates, for whom they voted in each course? Then, do the math. Who is the real progressive candidate in the race? Me!

If you look at the election’s process, whereas two petitions of objection were made as an attempt to all opponents out of the ballot, that’s not progressive. One of the progressive values is based on voter’s participation. The tow objections were considered as an attack to control voter’s participation in the election – voter suppression.

Meanwhile, another progressive value is based campaign finance reform. When seeing a candidate in this local election so far spent over $100k in his campaign, this doesn’t sound like progressive to me.

(See above question regarding other candidate's positions on gun violence).

Now, in my view regarding the issue of gun violence and community safety, I personally believe that we cannot fight violence with violence and we cannot fight crime without economic development. With that said, I will not give police more weapons to combat violence. I believe that job creation and workforce development would be a key to mitigating gun violence in the community. And I tend to focus specifically on helping low-income Evanston families get on a path toward economic self-sufficiency. That’s truly a progressive view.

So, absolutely, I’m a proud Evanstonian with a progressive value. To add to that, I am opposed to deportation of non-criminal undocumented immigrants. As mayor, I pledge to protect those immigrants from mass deportation to not cooperate with federal deportation and enforcement actions against those immigrants and families. With that said, I will not allow our local law enforcement officers discretion to hold immigrants in detention based on immigration status or to carry out immigration detainer requests from federal authorities.

• How would you describe the city’s partnership with Northwestern University? Has this partnership been effective and would you like to see it continue?

Currently, the city has a good relationship with Northwestern University. As a mayor, I will not only continue that positive relationship with Northwestern, but also strengthen it.

I will continue to bolster that relationship with NU in the intent for the institution to help with workforce strategies in coordinating workforce development for youth, as well as setting priorities of business as pursuing higher education.

• Are there enough social programs in Evanston and are the ones here effective?

There could never be enough social programs to help with workforce and economic development, such as public infrastructure, violence prevention, housing, education, and rehabilitation in the community. For instance, we cannot get enough of an organization like Youth & Opportunity United (Y.O.U.), which helps integrate the youth into different types of social activities, such as civic engagement, support, sustainability. They are very effective in town. Nevertheless, we can always help and challenge them to do more.

• As mayor, how would you address the community’s call for free beach access during the summer months?

First and foremost, I strongly support the free beach access to residents. I believe that the north beach is a public good and all Evanston residents should have the ability to have access it.

Meanwhile, let me share a complete letter with you from a constituent who sent it to me earlier this month. The letter smarts as follow:

Evanston prides itself on our beautiful lakefront. The beaches are some of the most beautiful in the midwest. And yet, our beaches are largely populated by white people. The shameful truth is apparent as you drive up Sheridan Road - white people on the beach, people of color on the picnic grounds, outside the fence.

This has been an issue for me for a long time. It motivated my many years of service as an Evanston Recreation Board participant, and fellow citizen Joan Taylor and I have made many visits to city officials and prominent citizens, in search of a solution.

Some of the issues we hear, as we talk about this issue:

1. The revenue from beach tokens would be hard to replace. It funds lifeguards and other staff that tend the beach.

Response: It is a lot of money. Without tokens, some of the staff which sits at the gates and checks for tokens would be unnecessary. But would a small tax increase be worth the message that every citizen is welcome? Surely. All Evanstonians support the tax structure, through property taxes or through rent. We are a city that prides itself on diversity - we need to make it a reality.

2. There are already lots of programs, handing out free tokens. People can get them if they want.

Response: The process (showing up at a Rec facility during business hours, with the proper documentation) is not easy for families working many jobs, with many shifts. A family in my neighborhood had to return three times to Robert Crown, and then gave up. This is a family of citizens with a Hispanic name and a kid with disabilities.

In all our years of advocating on this issue, the most compelling testimony has been from a prominent citizen, with a management position in a big non-profit in town. A person of color, she has raised her kids here, and works every day, professionally and as a citizen advocate, for a better Evanston. Joan and I had a conversation with her on this issue, and at the end of it, we asked, So where did you take your kids while they were growing up?" She responded, somewhat sheepishly, "The beach at Tuohy, in Chicago. Free and my kids felt comfortable there."

After thanking Marion for her message and addressing an important issue that should concern all of us, I command her in-depth observation. I emailed her to let her that totally agree with her perspective that "We are a city that prides itself on diversity - we need to make it a reality. And let you know that I'm on board with her in continuing to address this critical issue to find a positive solution - Fairness and equity: Keeping Evanston diverse and inclusive is one of my top priorities.

• Also, add your political background, experience and any other unique qualifications that make you the best candidate for mayor of Evanston.

First, I am an agent of social justice and social change with a progressive value. Currently, I work as a full-time faculty advisor at Northeastern Illinois University. I teach Social Work Research and Social Welfare Policy. So, I do have an in-depth understanding about public policy.

I also works independently as a Behavioral Intervention Specialist for Life Builders at Chicago Public Schools. My area of expertise lies in school attendance, substance abuse, gang dis-affiliation and/or self-regulation and conflict resolution.

My qualifications are based upon a combination of skills, experience, and education, which includes a B.A. degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern Illinois University and an M.A. degree in Social Service Administration with an emphasis in Community Program Planning Development from the University of Chicago.

Prior to running for mayor, I was elected as Evanston Township Supervisor (2013). Some of my accomplishments include: Transparency: Increased the Township visibility. First person to release to the media the Novak Consulting Group Report on the Township Assessment.

Collaboration: Worked with the City and relocated Township Office to Civic Center; and Accountability: Moved Township recipients toward self-sufficiency.

Photo via Gary Gaspard for Evanston Mayor