Montica Casey-Watt, candidate for mayor in Caseyville, IL
Name: Montica Casey-Watt
Political party (if applicable): Not applicable
Age as of April 6, 2021: 49
Campaign website or social media page: Do not have one at this time
Office seeking: Mayor for Village of Caseyville
Are you an incumbent? No
Previous offices sought: Yes, I ran for trustee for Caseyville Township.
Occupation: Quality assurance
Education: Collinsville HIgh School 1989
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Caseyville Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program 2014-2016
Why are you running? I am running to bring a new perspective of ideas to our community. There are people that have run our Village government like it is their own personal playground filled with vendettas against people that are against them. I believe we need to hire for the jobs we have available and give special consideration to those who apply that live inside the Village limits. If you are good enough to work for the Village and make over 25 dollars an hour with 100% benefits paid, then the least you could do you also reside here, yet we may have 5 or 6 employees that reside inside the city limits out of 25 plus. The Village of Caseyville has lost its small town community feel and it is a shame. I have resided here for over 95% of my adult life, I have raised all my children in this Village, and it has been going down hill as a place to not want to raise a family any more. I want to be transparent in the dealings of the Village. Currently, there are FOIAs being denied to people based on Mickey Mouse excuses just to hide things. We need to get back to an open and honest government and that starts with electing people to the positions that actually care about the community and not care about the power along with going on power trips. The current administration has stripped most of the job duties from the Village Clerk because she was holding up her rules of office and now the Village attorney does most of those duties now making a ridiculous sum of money.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? We need to implement a 15 year street and drainage improvement plan throughout the Village of Caseyville. We need to have rotating police patrols through ALL neighborhoods so the citizens can feel safer and know that our great officers are patrolling and this starts with the leadership to get this implemented. We need community organized events so people can meet each other, form friendships, enjoy time with their families in their community, and get the feel of living in a caring community back to what it should be. I want to repair the trust between Village government and the citizens of our community.
Why should people vote for you? I have always enjoyed organizing events, to delivering thanksgiving baskets for those in need to see the joy on the families faces that they have food for the holiday, and having community events to meet people, get feedback easier, and to see everyone enjoying themselves. The people that have been elected are complacent, have hidden agendas, spend excessively on attorney fees well over 600 thousand dollars from 2017 to current, and establishing positions that are further depleting our financial resources for very pressing needs. I want the people to know that I have a true, genuine care for this community as a whole and that I would be an accessible Mayor if elected. Can you name five things that you want to see changed in the community? If you answered yes, then it is time to elect me as your mayor so we can get our community back on the right track.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 1:56 AM.