Juany Garza, Alfonso Santoyo run for 2nd Ward seat on Aurora City Council
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the April 1 general election.
Aurora voters are set to soon choose between incumbent Juany Garza and challenger Alfonso Santoyo for the 2nd Ward seat on the Aurora City Council.
This and other local races — including for Aurora's mayor, alderman at-large and several other ward aldermen — are set to be decided in the April 1 consolidated election. Early voting is now open in all four of Aurora's counties.
Juany Garza has been the 2nd Ward alderwoman since she was elected in 2005. Her challenger, Alfonso Santoyo, works at Southwest Airlines and is running for public office for the first time.
Both candidates agreed to interviews with The Beacon-News earlier this month.
Originally from Mexico, Garza moved to Aurora in 1997 and soon got invested in local politics.
After living for a time in Northlake, she sold her house and moved to Aurora during a 'very bad' time for the city at the urging of her daughter, an Aurora resident, Garza said.
The first morning after she moved into the house she still lives in, she was told by police that two men who had been murdered had been dumped and set ablaze in the alley behind her property, she said.
She talked to her alderman at the time about why the alleys had no lights and were not paved, but she was told that it wasn't a priority, Garza said.
For years, graffiti and gang activity spread in the alleys, but her ward alderman continued to say that it wasn't a priority, she said. Neither was cleaning up McCarty Park, she said, which families were unable to enjoy because of drug dealers and homeless people.
So, in 2004, Garza decided to run for alderwoman in the 2nd Ward. Hispanic people were and continue to be a large population in the ward, but they were not actively involved in the community, so it was like they didn't exist, she said.
After being elected in 2005, Garza used ward funds to renovate McCarty Park and created the Ice Cream Social event that brought families back to the park, she said.
In addition, she helped to create two other parks in the ward, she said, one of which is for children with disabilities and is now owned by the Fox Valley Park District.
And, she said all of the alleys are now lit and paved.
Garza also helped to bring a daycare facility, the One Hope United Aurora Early Learning Center, to the ward through a partnership with the state, she said.
Other programs Garza said she has started include scholarships, free solar lights for low-income seniors and a yearly breakfast honoring Hispanic pioneers that have helped to build the city, among others.
Last year, the scholarship program provided students with nearly $32,000 by partnering with local businesses, she said. The students she has supported in the past with the scholarship program, she said, have gone on to be pilots, nurses, doctors and social workers.
The most important things to Garza, she said, are safety and education.
If elected for another four years, Garza said she would again work to improve McCarty Park, this time with a concession building with toilets so the park does not need to rely on portable toilets. The project is already in the works, she said.
What sets Garza apart from her opponent, she said, is that she understands the system. Her opponent has criticized her for things that are outside of her control, she said.
Garza said she devotes all her time to being an alderwoman and has a rule for herself: return all communications she receives each day — whether that is an email or a call to her personal cell or home phone — before going to bed each night.
Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Santoyo said he moved to Aurora around 25 years ago.
Originally working in the financial sector but losing his job during the 2008 financial crisis, Santoyo now works at Southwest Airlines.
There, he was selected by his union's executive committee to be on the contract negotiations committee, he said, and was the youngest person to ever be chosen for the position, he said.
That gave him a lot of experience in negotiations, since he helped to secure an 'industry-leading multi-billion dollar contract for over 15,000 members,' he said.
Santoyo was also elected as the union's financial secretary treasurer, he said, and in that role he focused on stopping financial misuse and placed a strong emphasis on fiduciary responsibility.
In addition to his role in his union, Santoyo has also been a precinct committeeman for the Democratic Party, but he said he has never run for public office.
Now, Santoyo said he is running for 2nd Ward alderman because he said the ward and community have remained 'pretty stagnant' over the years.
'There hasn't been much upkeep, much maintenance. We have a lot of street lights that are out,' he said. 'It's not something that shows a lot of promise, growth, development and I think that's a reflection of the current leadership.'
Quality of life is one thing that Santoyo said he would focus on if elected. The alderman should be the point person for the community to bring issues to, but small things like cracks in sidewalks are being ignored, he said.
Another thing Santoyo would focus on if elected, he said, is communication. Many people get 'blindsided' about a lot of what happens in the ward, and there is a lack of communication from the alderman's office, he said.
Also, there is little explanation about what is going on at the City Council, according to Santoyo.
He said that is something he would work to improve by educating ward residents about what is happening both in the ward and at the City Council. Plus, he would publish how the ward's funds are being spent instead of people having to formally request those documents, he said.
As for his priorities on City Council for the city as a whole, Santoyo said he wants the city to work with the federal government to attract businesses that will bring in more 'value-added' jobs, such as in manufacturing.
He said these jobs would bring with them good income and good benefits, raising the quality of life for the whole of Aurora.
Other than his focus on improving quality of life and transparency, Santoyo said that his self-funded campaign sets him apart from his opponent.
'This is a burden that I'm willing to take on because I want to maintain my independence,' he said. 'I want to be able to truly represent the people.'
Santoyo said he would lean on his experience in his union, in his professional life and his education in economics from the University of Chicago to give back to his ward and community.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
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