Kate Gjaja: Candidate For Wilmette Village Board

WILMETTE, IL — Ahead of Wilmette's upcoming municipal elections, Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch provided candidate questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot.

The April 6 ballot will contain two candidates for village president and five candidates for village trustee seeing three seats on the village board.

Candidate responses are published verbatim and in the order they are received. Early voting began Monday ahead of the April 6 consolidated election.

Kate Gjaja

Age (as of Election Day)
50

Town/City of Residence
Wilmette

Office Sought
Village board

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

Education
BA Princeton University, MBA Northwestern School of Management

Occupation
Community Volunteer (16 years); Real Estate Development - Project Manager (4 years)

Campaign website
www.kategjaja.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office
None

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

This is a tough question to answer as I think there are a lot of important issues facing the Village Board. I will say that the most immediate issue facing Wilmette is recovering from the pandemic. The stress on our community – our schools, our businesses, our collective psyche – should not be underestimated. I am hopeful that we will be returning to near-normal by this summer and if elected Trustee, I will immediately be focused on monthly reviews of the financial picture, open to additional financial support of struggling businesses, and attune to opportunities to rebuild community.

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 support the Black Lives Matter movement and the peaceful demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake. It is important that we really hear what this movement and demonstrations are about and look for opportunities to improve treatment, equity and access for minority groups in our own community.

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 June statement made by the Village Board on fostering a safe and equitable community was a good start; the work of the Board to recharter and repopulate the Human Relations and the Housing Commissions was even better. I am hopeful that the excellent people who stepped up to serve on these commission will help the village to figure out how to truly become a more diverse and equitable community. I believe that an important step is for the community to explore and recognize our history of excluding certain people from our community in the past as that work will help to make us a more welcoming community going forward.

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?

The pandemic has been an incredibly challenging time for our country, our state, and our community. Our leaders have had to figure out as best they could how to help our community to make it through these unprecedented times. I support the public health decisions that were made when COVID cases were high including limiting operations of some businesses and restaurants, and mask mandates. I am very hopeful that these restrictions can continue to be lifted as COVID cases drop in our community.

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?

I am thrilled that less than one year after the start of the pandemic, we have such robust vaccines available to us. Of course I would like to see everyone vaccinated as soon as possible, but I recognize the challenges inherent in a rollout of this magnitude. I am so grateful to all of the people in our community who have stepped up to volunteer their time to help at-risk individuals to find and receive a vaccine as part of the Community Caretakers Program. I do think that Wilmette should look carefully at whether reinstating our own health department or sharing a health department with other nearby communities would be helpful to our community in the future.

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

What unites all of us is our desire to be of service to the community we treasure. We have differences in our backgrounds and experience, our prioritization of issues facing our community and how we would address them, and perhaps in our approach to the role of a Trustee. I hope that voters will take the time to learn about each candidate and cast an informed vote.

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

My campaign is about me and what makes me a good candidate, not about criticizing anyone else. We are fortunate to have good people throughout our community who step up to serve in volunteer elected positions, and I am grateful for their service.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

• Fiscal Responsibility
• Environmental Sustainability
• Inclusivity
• Economic Development
• Comprehensive Planning
More detail can be found at www.kategjaja.com

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

I earned a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from Northwestern. In my professional life, I worked as a project manager for a real estate development company. As a community volunteer, I served in numerous positions in our schools, on the leadership team for the successful school referendum (Citizens for Wilmette Schools) and on the Board of the League of Women Voters of Wilmette for more than 10 years including 2 years as President. All of this experience has prepared me to serve as a Trustee for our Village.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office as a success?

I do not have one accomplishment that would mark my term in office as a success as I am not a single issue candidate. What I can say is that I would hope at the end of my term, we have: (1) Developed a robust and strategic comprehensive plan; (2) Supported our current businesses and attracted new businesses to open here; (3) Invested in our infrastructure; (4) Opened our community to a more diverse population with more affordable housing and a focus on becoming a more welcoming community; (5) Implemented effective environmental sustainability programs; (6) Kept the Village's portion of property taxes as low as possible.

Why should voters trust you?

I have lived in Wilmette for more than 16 years and have worked throughout my time here to continue making our community a great place to live for all people at all stages of life. I think the next place I can best serve our community is as a Village Trustee and that is why I am running.

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

Fiscal policy is always a balancing act between the necessary spending to provide residents with the services they expect and not raising property taxes so that it becomes too much of a burden on those same residents. I believe that is the ongoing focus of the Village staff, and I believe my role as a Trustee is to work with the staff to maintain that balance appropriately.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?
No

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Make your corner of the world a better place, then make your corner bigger.