Taylor Zurliene, candidate for Mayor in New Baden, IL
Name: Taylor Zurliene
Political party (if applicable): Independent
Age as of April 6, 2021: 29
Campaign website or social media page: facebook.com/Taylor-Zurliene-for-New-Baden-Mayor-101456538531197
Office seeking: Mayor
Are you an incumbent? No
Previous offices sought: New Baden Village Trustee
Occupation: Location Manager, Gateway FS - Venedy Elevator
Education: Kaskaskia College, AS - General Studies 2010; Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, BS Plant and Soil Science - 2012, Louisiana State University - Shreveport, MBA Data Analytics specialization - 2021
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement: Being engaged in my community is a priority for me and my family. My first official position was in 2013 as a member of the University of Illinois Extension advisory council advising on Extension’s outreach programs and financial health for the Clinton County unit. I resigned my position in 2016 being appointed Trustee for the Village of New Baden, I am now in my third term in this position. My accomplishments as chairman of the finance committee, and former chairman of the personnel committee, are achieving financial stability for the village.
Why are you running? After getting my feet wet as a trustee over the past five years, I am ready to step up and serve my hometown as mayor. For too long, decisions have been made for problems in immediate need of band aid fixes. Decision making is more than putting out the fires facing our community at a single point, rather as mayor I would use current and future goals meshed with supporting data to drive plans and implement long term planning. New Baden is ripe for new business and new residents, and a growth management plan to fix infrastructure and leverage funding will enhance our ability to prosper. It’s time for transformational leadership to bring together residents, businesses and village staff to achieve our goals as a village.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? In this climate, funding for all municipalities is the top issue; New Baden is not immune. We have grown our residential community over the last 20 years, but business growth has not necessarily followed suit. We have many attractable assets, such as easy interstate access and development incentives, to use to our advantage attracting commercial developments and jobs to our community. Growing our business community employs our residents and reduces the tax burden for all property owners of New Baden. Efficiency in the Village’s daily operations, primarily through technology, is another area where we can better utilize tax dollars. Implementing a more efficient structure will allow our staff to spend less time on existing tasks and focus on solving our long-term problems. This would also allow us to be proactive rather than reactive to opportunities that are presented.
Why should people vote for you? A vote for me is a vote for the future of New Baden. As mayor I will continue to move us forward by making informed decisions; this includes gathering best practices being performed by other communities, collecting data and projecting future implications for the Village’s finances, reputation, residents and businesses. Factual information is what residents will continue to get from me instead of relying solely on the misinformation of what folks may hear through the grapevine. I will be accessible to our residents and value their input so New Baden is the town that provides opportunities for generations to work and grow.
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 12:56 PM.