Election: Challenger Bub Wants Input on Shrewsbury Budget Process

John Bub says his neighbors in the asked him to run for Board of Alderman in Ward 2.

“I wanted to have a little better representation for people in my subdivision,” Bub said in an interview.

An accountant with the US Postal Service, Bub has lived in Shrewsbury for two years with his wife Linda, who teaches business management classes at the college level. His main hobby when he isn’t busy running for election is tennis.

“If I retired now, my office would switch to the asphalt court,” Bub joked.

In running for office Bub said he wants greater input in the execution of the controversial Walmart-anchored Kenrick Plaza redevelopment project, particularly in how the development effects the neighborhood environment, including air, noise and litter.

“This will basically be in our backyard,” said Bub. “We don’t want any disturbance, we don’t want any property damage.”

Though unlike some residents he does not have any problems with Wal-Mart as a company, he said he isn’t enthused to have one in Shrewsbury.

“We have one in Kirkwood, we have one in Maplewdood. I don’t know if we need another one,” Bub said.

that redeveloping the plaza would bring significant sales tax revenue into city coffers. Instead Bub said he would like to take a closer look at what cuts could be made to reduce Shrewsbury’s troubling budget deficit.

“I would like to see the board and the mayor look at the departments and see where to trim the fat. It seems like when they ask for something, it gets passed right away,” he said.

He stressed that he will need to look at the city’s budget more closely to see what the options are, but his suggestions include a “public safety department” reorganization of fire and police services, fines against business landlords who aren’t maintaining their properties, changes to prices at the pool and pool concession stand.

“Services should pay for themselves,” he said, citing ambulance fees and citation fines by the fire and police departments.

And if the redevelopment is going through, he said he wants to be involved to make sure it doesn’t radically change his neighborhood and does bring something valuable to the area—a restaurant, coffee or bagel shops, medical facilities or mixed use space.

Barring that, he’d consider to dig Shrewsbury out of its deficit hole.

“If getting us through this period of uncertainty means you need to raise my taxes, I would go along with that,” he said.

Bub stressed that has not running for office to bash anyone.

“The mayor and the board are good people they’re intelligent,” Bub said. “Our governing board is a good one, and I’d like to be a part of it.”

Still, he wouldn’t be running if he thought things were perfect.

“I think they could do more to hear what the citizens think,” Bub said. “I’d like to see more public involvement.”

The election is today, April 3.