Roughly two months after she first began considering a run, Alyssa Knobel decided Sunday that she would pursue a seat on the City Council in next April's election.
The Business & Economic Development Commission (BEDC) chair and 14-year Highland Park resident joins Kim Stone and Councilman Daniel Kaufman in the race for three available slots. Current Councilmen Jim Kirsch and Steve Mandel will not seek reelection, and the council seat Kaufman was appointed to last April is up for grabs next year.
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"I wanted to vet my issues and get a grip on what people were saying and how they felt about me as a candidate," Knobel said about the past two months. "I have been living a council schedule."
Knobel has been endorsed by Mayor Nancy Rotering as well as City Councilmen Tony Blumberg, David Naftzger, Paul Frank and Steve Mandel, according to a statement issued by Knobel's campaign.
"Alyssa is a dear friend and she's also somebody who gets involved up to her eyeballs in the community," Rotering said in April.
In addition to serving as a chairperson for BEDC, Knobel is a board member of the Downtown Highland Park Alliance and worked with them to organize the city's first Restaurant Week.
Knobel believes that getting the city's nine business districts to work with each other more closely will help bring a more diverse group of businesses to the city and maintain the sales tax dollars the city averages yearly towards its general fund. She considers the recent closing of Marla's Sweet Bites -- one of two cupcake places on Central Avenue -- to partially be the result of poor communication between business groups and the city.
"The nine business districts are made up of a lot of people and great ideas, with the same important goal in mind: generate business; create revenue for the city to help offset our property tax burden," Knobel said. "Doing it collectively makes it more effective."
Stone, Kaufman also running
Stone, who declared her candidacy in May, currently serves on the transportation commission, the Parks Advisory Committee of the Park District of Highland Park and the North Shore School District 112 Field Management Committee. Stone hopes to replace Steve Mandel as the voice for environmental concerns,assuming the councilman wins his bid to join the Lake County Board.
"We need somebody who can really speak to environmental issues and make sure they're taken into consideration at the city level," Stone told Patch when she first announced her candidacy.
Kaufman, who was appointed by Rotering to the city council last summer, announced his intention to run to retain his seat in late May.
"I am running to continue the work I have begun with the Mayor and my fellow Councilmen to keep moving us forward for the betterment of our residents and community in general," Kaufman said in the statement.
The longtime Highland Park resident spoke with Patch shortly after his first meeting as a City Councilman about his priorities for the city council. They include ensuring a fiscally responsible and fully responsive government, promoting economic development and enhancing our human services.
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