Meet Evergreen Park Village Trustee Candidate Cesar Salazar

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Cesar Salazar running for Evergreen Park village trustee in the upcoming April 6 consolidated election. Salazar is an audio video director and web developer. He is involved in the Evergreen Park Athletic Association and Evergreen Park Baseball Club. Salazar currently serves as treasurer for the Evergreen Park Stallions. Three seats on the village board are up for renewal; five candidates, including three incumbents running and two challengers are running for village trustee. The top three vote getters will win the election. Early voting starts March 22.

Name: Cesar Salazar

Age (as of Election Day): 43

Town of Residence: Evergreen Park

Office Sought: Evergreen Park village trustee

Party Affiliation (if a partisan race): Independent

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No

Education: Associate degree audio engineer

Occupation: Director Audio Visual 12 years / Web developer 5 years

Campaign website: https://www.votecesarsalazarep.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Vice president of Evergreen Park Athletic Association (previous), board member with Evergreen Park Baseball Club and trustee for Evergreen Park Stallions (current). All volunteer and not government related.

The single most pressing issue facing our Evergreen Park and this is what I intend to do about it.

Communication. We need to have a better relationship with ALL our residents and listening to their concerns. Our family living here over 15 years in Evergreen Park, we have never met our trustees. My intention is to let our community know who we are by going to events, meet and greet, reassure them that we are their voice. Create a site for once a month virtual meeting (open format) to the community to hear their ideas or concerns to pass along at our meetings for those who can not attend and any information from our village.

Do you support Black Lives Matter and what are your thoughts on the demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake?

I do support Black Lives matter, I support blue line, I also support all lives matter. There is no color in my eyes as we should be united as ONE community. I also support freedom of speech and the right to protest peacefully just like our young adults did at circle park for George Floyd. I also support our first responders who do good in our community that do not get recognized for their services. There are laws that we all have to abide by, both citizen and government officials. We must learn from each other, the past, and adjust to our everyday life but never forget. I am a strong believer in unity.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

I think the board has done a good job so far but need to become a diverse board as our community has been changing.

What are your thoughts on the national and local coronavirus response? Do you favor measures such as limiting operation of non-essential businesses and restricting indoor/outdoor dining? And do you favor a local mask mandate?

Limiting is a good way to reduce the spread for a small period, so we can go back to our normal lifestyle. We must support our local businesses and have an understanding where it is safe to operate to prevent the spread. I feel that masks should be worn in public areas as we have a lot of elderly residents in our community and prevent the virus from spreading and containing it.

What are your thoughts on the state and local coronavirus vaccine distribution, and how do you think local governments should work together to handle vaccine rollout?

It was a slow start but see that distribution is finally under way. I just received my first dose. It was fast, clean, and organized. Local government should be working with all medical facilities and pharmacies to ensure the distribution is going accordingly. Have a command center in our village reaching out to elderly residence and taking them to get their vaccine or having a medical team go to their homes and get vaccinated. Help families that can not go out of their homes to get vaccinated.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Our trustees have been there for a very long time. We need to bring that spark back in our board members with new members, ideas, and trying new things for our community and residents.

I am very passionate when getting involved with public service and will go above and beyond to succeed for the good of the community.

Our community is becoming more diverse and need bilingual speaking board members to be the voice of ALL of our Evergreen Park residents.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

I do not think they have failed, I just feel there is lack of communication with the community. Some residents do not know who our village trustees are or communicated with them about the concerns they have. We also need to focus more on our elderly and see how we can better assist their needs.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Senior activities/programs/check-ins, school safety zones, Youth programs are just a few that need our attention.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have been involved with community organizations for over 10 years and have made in impact with great success working together for our athletic kids. Now it's time to put some work in for everyone else in our village.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?
Gaining the trust of our residents and accomplishing all tasks brought to us by our community.

Why should voters trust you?

Earning the trust of our residents by providing the loyalty and dedication like I have given to our baseball organizations (EPAA, EPBC ) and football/cheer Stallions. I am your neighbor, family of five with three young children who want the best for them and all of us in the community. We love living here and will continue to make Evergreen Park stronger!

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the use of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

Treasurer for the Evergreen Park Stallions, I always look for the pro's and con's before making any decisions with our board. This is very important to me as its my tax dollars too, and we need to ensure everyone with everything that is done with spending taxpayers dollars.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No, I plan in serving the full term and hopefully more.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about together and uniting to accomplish it.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have always been all about Evergreen Park. Vice President for Evergreen Park Athletic Association (EPAA) before the merger and now a board member in the new Evergreen Park Baseball Club (EPBC). Treasurer for Evergreen Park Stallions are all things that I love to do. Now hoping to share my services with the rest of the community that we live in for a stronger, unified EP. GO Mustangs!!!