Sean Starr, Candidate for 31st Ward Alderman

Candidate Full Name: Sean Starr

Office: 31st Ward Alderman

Party: Progessive

Email Address: sean@seanstarr.org

Web Site: seanstarr.org

Campaign Office Mailing Address: 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 3300 Chicago, IL 60603

Phone: (312) 609-0060

Survey Questions (Character limit of 2,000 per response)

1. What is the most important issue that you will address in your ward?

Our commitment to our neighborhood public schools is the most important issue I will address in my ward. Most of the 31st Ward residents would either identify crime reduction and prevention or economic development as the ward's most important issue. I plan to aggressively address both of these as two of my three main priorities in office (the other being affordable housing). However, what I identify as the most important issue in the ward-and in the city as a whole-is a need to reinvest in our public education system. If we return our neighborhood public schools to center of our community, we better equip the next generation of residents to move our community forward. I am a staunch advocate for an elected school board, decreased class size, and elimination of high-stakes testing. We most open up the dialogue and ask teachers, parents, and students what ideas they have to make their experiences better. We need to return the arts, physical education, and trade skills training back into the curriculum. I am dedicated to being a voice for holistic, progressive change in our neighborhood public schools. If we better educate the next generation, they will be better prepared to provide innovative solutions to the emerging problems that affect us all.

2. What are your plans for helping fight crime in your ward?

I have a comprehensive five-point plan to reduce and prevent crime in the 31st Ward that I plan on implementing within my first three months in office. In short, in involves the following:

a. Instituting community policing programs that identify community ambassadors to operate as a liaison between the neighborhoods and my office and equipping the community and these ambassadors with more innovative crime prevention technology.

b. Developing in-ward job-training seminars.

c. Working to institute and extend more after-school programs for ward schools.

d. Identifying and transforming vacant spaces into community hubs.

Advocating for the hiring of more police officers to work our city beats and developing more community connection programs with beat cops.

3. What, if any, city assets would you consider privatizing to raise money?

I am against any further privatization of city assets at this time.

4. Do you support or oppose the vote to increase the minimum wage in several steps to $13 an hour by 2019?

I support it but advocate for a $15 an hour minimum wage.

5. Are you in favor of Chicago's Red Light Camera program?

I am not in favor of the Chicago's Red Light Camera program. While they decrease side impact collisions, they increase rear impact collisions. A majority of them were placed in intersections with high accident rates. They were sold to the public as an instrument of safety, but are really just an instrument of revenue. As a revenue tool, they are regressive in that they disproportionately impact low income people. They are really a nickel and diming mechanism in the guise of "technology makes our lives better."

Sean Starr