| Written by Cincy Chic staff, on 16-07-2007 21:14 |
Chic Spotlight: Sycamore Township Trustee Candidate, Pat Stern
Pat Stern is running for Sycamore Township Trustee this year. She's on a mission to change her local government for the better, and paint a brighter future for women in politics.
Cincy Chic: What office are you running for?
Pat Stern: I am running for the second time in Sycamore Township for
Trustee. In the last election (2005), I was only 400 votes shy of
winning and received 80 percent of the votes needed to win. In Sycamore
Township, we had around 8,000 people who voted in 2005. Sycamore
Township is a very diverse community of 7,000 households. Sycamore
Township is where the Kenwood Mall is located and goes as far north as
where I live off of Fields Ertel, abutting Deerfield Township.
Cincy Chic: What's your main platform?
Stern: My main platform is the fact elected officials make major
decisions for the community behind closed doors or hold “work sessions”
at 9 a.m. on Tuesday mornings so that the public (with traditional
9am-5pm jobs) have little say so as to what happens. Sycamore Township
does not videotape their meetings, does not put their agenda on the Web
site and does not publicize minutes from their meetings. If you want to
see a copy of the budget, they charge .25 per page. No other community
charges that fee. The community has a 20 million dollar budget, but
does not have a master plan for the community. Residents have not been
asked for their opinion on anything for over a decade, so I want to do
a comprehensive community survey. Our parks have not been fully
developed, they are very old and need equipment replacement. Our
current Trustees have put two fire tax levies on the ballot, and one
was successful. So, instead of being creative in curbing spending, they
went straight to the taxpayers. Our Township residents are being
squeezed out of their neighborhoods to accommodate retail and office
development. I am not against development, but I am for controlled
development. Our Township has terrible road congestion that has gone
unchecked and residents are upset about that. I want to take better
care of our aging population by providing more services through the
sycamore senior center.
Cincy Chic: Have you ever held a public office like this before?
Stern: No, as I said before, I ran in 2005 and lost by only 400 votes.
I have served on the Sycamore Township Land Use Committee and Board of
Zoning appeals for six years, as well as many volunteer positions in
the community, to include the Sycamore Senior board for 11 years.
Cincy Chic: What's the climate for women in politics right now? In Sycamore and nationwide in your opinion?
Stern: It's not good there are less women in local politics (city and
state) than there was in my Mother's generation. Numbers are going down.
It has been a good old boys network for decades. In fact, no woman has
ever held a trustee position in the history of the Township. I will be
the first.
Support and money is not available as much as it is for men. It is very
hard for women to run for office, yet we are the most qualified and
have the experience but we also are raising children and helping care
for parents and we are working. Women need supportive husbands and
families in order to run for office.
Cincy Chic: Any advice for other women out there interested in politics?
Stern: Go for it!
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