The ward’s alderman represents Northwestern students who live on North Campus, including those in Bobb-McCulloch Hall, Sargent Hall and the Fraternity Quads.
Incumbent Ald. Stephen Engelman said he was glad the Senate was interested in the candidates’ platforms.
“We’ve heard so much about the race for First Ward alderman on the south end of campus that the north end has almost been forgotten,” he said.
Engelman discussed his eight- year record on Evanston City Council and his vision for the future.
“The politics of confrontation do not work,” he said. “It is time to get on with the business of governing the city and establishing relationships to move us forward.”
Engelman said the most important issue facing his ward, following the closing last week of Loews Evanston 5 movie theater, is the redevelopment of Central Street – possibly through a second-run cinema or a live-music venue.
Engelman’s three challengers focused their speeches on Evanston’s troubled financial situation, offering different ideas for alleviating the city’s almost $2 million deficit.
Candidate Karl Gromelski said it was time for Evanston to start asking “what if” and begin creating new programs and events. He discussed possibly holding a film festival in Evanston or building a boardwalk along the beachfront to attract tourist money to the city.
“I am the candidate for change,” Gromelski said. “Other cities have been thinking forward while we have been raising taxes.”
Fraternity Sen. Ted Riley said Gromelski’s ideas were innovative.
“Gromelski definitely piqued my interest,” said Riley, a Weinberg sophomore. “I was excited to hear his ideas, but I don’t know the logistics of them.”
Candidate Junad Rizki also said the city would have to solve its own budgetary problems.
“There are no easy solutions,” he said. “But we can’t just depend on one means of revenue such as Northwestern.”
But candidate Howard Levin said the best way to raise money for Evanston would be to increase NU’s contribution to the city.
“Almost 44 percent of the land in Evanston is tax exempt,” he said. “This is the core issue and unless the situation is ameliorated, we will have a number of difficult years ahead.”
ASG President Adam Humann, who invited the candidates to speak, said Engelman has represented campus interests even though students haven’t always voted in strong numbers.
“Engelman has represented us well without the votes,” said Humann, a Weinberg senior. “That’s a real sign of integrity to me.”
After the candidates spoke, Senate members decided to roll over funds that were allocated for a speech this quarter by gay former Congressman Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.) so the money could be used to hold the event Spring Quarter.
The co-sponsors of the event, the Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Alliance and the College Republicans, were told by the Student Activities Finance Board on Tuesday that the event needed to take place this quarter, or they would lose funding.
Also at the meeting, senators passed rules for the March 28 election of Senate officers.
This year, senators will be able to debate the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate while the candidates remain in the room. In the past, only the candidates’ strengths were discussed.
College Republicans Sen. Ezra Church, who advocated the change, said the previous procedure was “fake.”
“The point is that we should have as much information about the candidates as we can,” said Church, a Weinberg junior. “We want to have the best elections possible.”
Two pieces of legislation also were passed, calling for provisions for students who couldn’t attend rescheduled classes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and improving the library’s textbook reserve program.
Twelve new pieces of legislation were introduced to be voted on next week. Senate will vote whether to:
_Ѣ Support keeping Shanley Pavilion open
_Ѣ Call on administrators to fund improvements to Shanley
_Ѣ Create an online election for a faculty honor roll
_Ѣ Call on administrators to give financial incentives to faculty members who advise student groups
_Ѣ Allow part-time students to serve on the Executive Board
_Ѣ Call on administrators to not change NU’s seal
_Ѣ Decrease the number of leadership workshops student group executive boards have to attend from three to one
_Ѣ Combine student groups with different objectives into alliances to improve diversity in attendance of events
_Ѣ Consider whether to fund MLK Day events before other student group events
_Ѣ Include undergraduate students in academic advising
Senators Keith Musial, Greg Egan, Kawika Pierson, Candace Unnerstall, Hena Bajwa, Kelly Meissner and Mandy Stilmock were named to ASG’s election commission.
The seven senators will be responsible for approving all posters, holding office hours and addressing complaints during ASG Executive Board elections in Spring Quarter.
