Lawrence Hanson: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: AntiochWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: mayor-larry-hansonOffice sought: Antioch Mayor Age: 57Family: Single, no children.Occupation: Retail executiveEducation: Antioch HS grad 1978, CLC business courses and continuing education.Civic involvement: Antioch Mayor 2009-present, Antioch Village Trustee 1989-1993, 1999-2009, Antioch Lions Club 1989 to present; Antioch Rotary Club; Antioch Chamber of Commerce and Industry 1980 to present, President 1984-1985; Antioch Exchange Club; Community Action Now charter member; Antioch Redevelopment Commission 1990's; Lifetime member St. Peter's Church.Elected offices held: Antioch Mayor 2009-present, Village Trustee 1989-1993, 1999-2009.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Growing up in the Antioch community allowed me to look at all perspectives of how a small community once was. This has made me able to see the progress over the past 50 plus years, in turn giving me insight into the things that make Antioch unique and a wonderful place to live. My passion is for the people of Antioch and my experience in bringing cost-efficient services to them. I've been in the forefront of guiding the village out of the recession and bringing new economic development as the economy has improved. Above all else, I've reached out to everyone involved or interested in village government and have built strong consensus on important issues among differing groups.How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services that people want?Having brought the community out of near fiscal collapse in 2009, I am proud to say that we've had balanced budgets over the past seven years with no obvious cuts in service levels.Thanks to those efforts, Antioch is in a strong position presently, but issues deriving from the fragile state of the Illinois economy are concerning. We need to continue to attract and keep good businesses and industry to town and thereby improve the options for people and reduce the reliance on real estate taxes.Citizens and businesses do deserve proper services in exchange for the taxes they pay. There needs to be constant weighing of the desire for services with the financial capabilities we have available and innovation used wherever possible to provide new revenue streams or more efficiency in service delivery.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?We've trimmed our workforce by more than a third in the past eight years and have modernized our communications systems to provide an outstanding level of service at lower cost. This resulted in over $7 Million in savings to date. Further personnel cuts would be irresponsible.Finding additional resources to provide improved roads and replace aging infrastructure is an important goal, but this cannot be done on the back of homeowners alone. We have developed long- range strategic plans that, if funded properly, could boost Antioch into a regional powerhouse.Putting money into new initiatives to bring businesses into our community is the next step in implementing our long-term strategic plan. When we have a stronger commercial and industrial base, the burden of providing services can be shifted away from the residents.Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.I bring people together and work hard to help people with different backgrounds and agendas find shared goals and work cooperatively. I allow elected officials ample opportunities to take leadership roles on important topics and to work directly with staff on implementing policies.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I'd like to see a centralized communication hub that would enable local stores and businesses to join forces in marketing and sharing information beyond our present capabilities. When someone needs something, they would be able to go to one place and find it in Antioch.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I want to preserve the best of the existing Village and bring the benefits of a renewed development potential to the community. Now that the worst of the recession is past, we're seeing renewed interest in housing and commercial development. This means that we're going to be facing the challenges of growth again. Managed properly, this can bring significant benefits to the Village, and we need strong leadership to ensure that this development is right for Antioch.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I found the coarse nature of the recent election disheartening. It's important to work together. We have many great leaders(naming one is cutting it short).What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?A stable, loving family is the most important thing in life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Travel and explore more options in my early adult years. I went straight into business and sometimes wonder where life might have taken me.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Distributive Education, which gave me business and communications skills.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?If I had children, I'd tell them to learn to listen and think before speaking.