Ward 7 St. Charles City Councilman Dave Beckering

Patch reached out to all local candidates for office to do an election profile before the April election. All candidates who spoke with Patch will be featured on the site. 

Dave Beckering

• Occupation: Retired Boeing Executive
• Education: I was born, raised and educated in St Charles County.
• Family: My children all attended St Charles City Schools.
• Years in St. Charles: I have lived in the City of St Charles for over 25 years.
• Year first elected: I was first elected in 2007. 

Background:

I have over 30 years experience in the business world. I retired as an executive from the Boeing Company. My background in finance, contracts and pricing, program management and marketing provides the basis for sound governance. 

Why are you running for election? 

I am running for another term to continue to help lead local government to focus on the three things that I believe are the most important. First, public safety should be the number one priority (fire and ambulance). Second is insfrastructure (roads, water, sewer). Third I want to continue to try and reduce the local tax burden. 

What is the biggest issue facing St. Charles?

The biggest issue facing St. Charles is finding the correct balance between revenue and spending. We have essentially frozen our levels of employment and as we go forward we will have to make tough decisions on what services, or what level of services, the city provides to our residents. Our current path is not sustainable unless we find other sources of revenue and I am not in favor of raising taxes. 

In what areas does St. Charles need to improve? 

We need the city to become more efficient in how we provide services. It is difficult for government, including local municipalities, to be efficient in providing services. Government should only be providing those services that the private sector cannot such as public safety. 

What will you do to help attract small business and retail to St. Charles? 

The city needs to become more business friendly. The staff does a good job of telling our story to prospective employers but we need to be very proactive in making sure that we not only attract new business but also retain our current base. 

What will you to do to maintain quality of life for St. Charles residents?
 
We will continue to provide opportunities for our citizens with festivals, music on Main, etc. as long as the budget allows us to do so. 

What's one thing you'd like to accomplish this year? 

The one goal that I have this year is to attempt to help shape the discussion to what I call the 50,000 foot level. It is important that the council set the policy direction of the city and not get caught up in the day to day running of the city. We have a strong staff and it is our job as a council to provide the direction and strategic policy of where we want to go, not the details of how we accomplish the goal.