Ryan R. Vickers, candidate for Ward 2 in Fairview Heights, IL
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More on the election for Fairview Heights Ward 2
Fairview Heights Ward 2 race. Candidates are listed alphabetically.
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Name: Ryan R. Vickers
Political party: Not applicable
Age: 28
Website: facebook.com/aldermanvickers/
Office seeking: Alderman Ward 2
Are you an incumbent? Yes
Previous offices sought: Alderman Ward 2 in 2017
Occupation: Field Assessors St. Clair County, deputy juvenile officer St. Louis County
Education: SIUC, BA in history and political science 2014
Please list highlights of your civic involvement.
A true son of Fairview, Ryan grew up in Bountiful Heights right behind chuck wagon and attend Grant Middle School
Ryan gain his passion for public service at his alma mater, SIUC where he obtained his Bachelors in History and Political Science. But it truly was his job at The Paul Simon institute, a distinguished premier think tank on campus, where he developed engagement strategies as well as got other students involved into ideas on ways to engage in civic life after college.
During a stint as as field organizer on the Bill Enyart congressional campaign, Ryan managed organizers and assisted with developing strategies to increase volunteer recruitment, fundraising and community outreach.
That led Ryan to Springfield, where he worked as a clerk on the labor committee with Rep. Jay Hoffman in the 2015 legislative year. From the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington D.C., all the way back home to the Missouri Home Care Union, Ryan helped lead the fight for 15 campaign for the AFL CIO union Summer Program by organizing and empowering home health care workers in a heated post Ferguson region.
Infinite Hands Charity and Kicks for the City based out of Chicago are just two of the charity organizations Alderman Vickers likes giving his time to throughout the year. But Alderman Vickers true passion is empowering others to run for local office in the region, as well as investing in the youth as a deputy juvenile detention officer for the county of St. Louis, a post he worked at much of his term. Today, Ryan is a field assessor for St. Clair County and sits on the community and finance committee for the city of Fairview Heights.
Why are you running?
I’m running for city council in Fairview because our city is transitioning from a city that has mostly invested in commerce into a city that has more residential services and entities that we must maintain to be a healthy city: from school districts, to property taxes, to sewer and infrastructure issues. The city of Fairview heights needs leaders to emerge from a new generation that are on the ground and understand the region in a way that can be transformative.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it?
The top issue in this race is simply the question of what will the next 50 years of Fairview look like commercially, and what factors may or may not lead to us retaining or implementing property taxes (the only city in the metro-east without them). I’m a simple “NAY” vote on property taxes because the education hasn’t been done with residents, and the city of Fairview Heights has more ways we can temper that possibility before we reach that junction.
Why should people vote for you?
Voters in Ward 2 should vote for myself because I’m a son of Fairview who has invested in bringing my education and public service right back to the community that educated and raised me. The city of Fairview has a median age of 45 in our city but a median age of 65 on our council with zero representation from the next generation. How can we invest into out city without new leaders emerging and taking on the fight? Four years ago we ran for alderman with the understanding that city planning is a process, and I’m asking voters to join me again on April 6th, 2021 for the next phase of us keeping Fairview a vibrant community that invests both in commerce and its residents!