Politics & Government

Ellisville Council Candidate Cindy Pool Would Install Survey System, 'Buy and Dine' Program

Pool is running for a seat on Ellisville's City Council in municipal elections April 2.

Patch sent all local candidates for office identical questionnaires to compile candidate profiles prior to the April election. Each candidate who returned the survey will be featured on the site in order of his or her response.

Cindy Pool, Ellisville City Council District 3 Candidate

Age: 42
Address: 1536 Virginia Drive
Occupation: Community Volunteer
Education: High School and some college (two years); currently pursuing degree in GIS mapping/data analysis
Family: Married to Michael Pool for 19 years; Three children: Maggie (17), Kennedy Catholic High School; Murphy (15), Kennedy Catholic High School; Bridget (10), St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School
Years lived in Ellisville: 9

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Background

  • 10+ years working as an officer manager, event coordinator and marketing assistant
  • 12+ years as a community volunteer working with children and adults
  • 2 years as Day Camp Director
  • Served on several program committees at the District, Council and National level
  • Council and National Delegate representing 60,000 girls and volunteers
  • Site coordinator - April Showers/Operation Food Search Collection Day (11 years)
  • Working with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri on a long-term project to update their Council, District and Neighborhood maps in an effort to utilize statistical data for research and program evaluation

Reasons for Running

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I am running for City Council to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I have attended almost every council meeting for the last year, and was disappointed to see how dysfunctional the meetings had become. Yes, we need a change, but not a complete overhaul. This election shouldn’t be about "shifting power." It should be about finding honest, unbiased representatives for the people. We need council members who can work together, or nothing will change. Since only a small minority of citizens typically voice their opinions, it is imperative to have more resident input if we want council members to truly represent all of the people.

Questions

What excites you about living in Ellisville? What do you want to change?

  • The feeling of community wherever you go in Ellisville; people are proud to live here.
  • Our Parks Department providing excellent programming for the city
  • New businesses coming to the city, and current businesses growing
  • The unique opportunity to revitalize Manchester Road
  • I would like to change our reputation in the media. 
  • I would like to see the city united again. 

What are your views on the past year's recall efforts, mayor impeachment discussion and Walmart development proceedings?

Since I wasn’t directly involved in any of it, I cannot choose sides. After April 2, I think we all need to remember what is important in life, and not let anger and greed control anymore lives.

Are you pro-TIF, anti-TIF or believe there are situational uses of TIF in Ellisville?

TIFs were made to have a very specific use. If used correctly, they can be a tool to jumpstart an area that would not otherwise be developed. Over the years, TIFs have been misused. In general, they should be used only as a last resort. 

What do you view as Ellisville's greatest accomplishment(s) in the past five years?

Ellisville has maintained a balanced budget during this difficult economy. The city continues to make smart financial decisions to ensure continuation of the free city services the residents want. As a point-of-sale city, we rely on the sales revenue to fund our budget. Even after losing two large retail stores, the city re-evaluated spending, and kept the loss to a minimum.

The Parks and Recreation Department has two great accomplishments. We are lucky to have a Parks and Rec Department that goes to great lengths to provide wonderful programming to our residents. Linda Reel and the Ellisville Dog Park Committee should be commended. To form a committee, raise all needed funds, and open the park, within a year, is astounding. Our dog park is one of the few in St. Louis that offers membership, not only to Ellisville residents, but to those who
live outside of the city limits.

The fact that Ellisville has been named a Tree City for the last 32 years is an accomplishment that no other city in Missouri can claim. Thank you to all of our city officials who have continued to make this a priority for so many years. (This year, the Arbor Day Ceremony will be April 11 at 2 p.m. at Bluebird Park.)

Assume you win the election. What single thing do you want to accomplish during your term?

I have two specific things that I would like to accomplish during my term as acouncilmember:

  1. Develop and implement an online City-to-Citizen (C2C) survey system that council members and city officials will use to acquire anonymous feedback from the residents. This system would give all citizens an opportunity to be heard, and would provide our council members a larger statistics, so they can better represent their Districts. This also could be used as a source to evaluate city services and community events.
  2. Start a public marketing campaign to "Buy and Dine in Ellisville." Simply, this program encourages residents to patronize our local stores and restaurants. This will not only increase the city’s tax revenue, but also show local businesses that they have our support. This program will help retain current business, and attract new prospects and community development.

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RELATED CONTENT:

  • Candidate Filing Closed for Spring 2013 Elections


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