2022 BND Candidate Survey Response
2022 BND Candidate Survey Response
The Belleville News-Democrat recently sent me their 2022 Candidate's Survey. Here are the responses I provided:
Email: cm4cb@carymathews.info
Name: Cary Mathews
Political Party: Republican
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 42
Campaign website or social media page: https://cm4cb.carymathews.info
Office seeking: St. Clair County Board District 2
Are you an incumbent?: No
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): I ran for Belleville Alderman in 2009.
Occupation: DoD Contractor
Education: I earned my BS in Computer Science from Abilene Christian University and am pursing a MS in Cybersecurity from Georgia Tech.
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I've served as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 2021. I have two children in middle school, one in elementary school and one in kindergarten and am committed to being involved in their education and extra-curricular activities.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: My campaign has been primarily self-funded. I have received contributions from my mother, who has supported all my activities, and from Doug Jameson, who is running for Board of Review.
Why are you running?: St. Clair voters do not typically have a choice on their ballots. I felt compelled to run for county board to give voters a choice in bringing new perspectives to county operations. The current path Democrats are leading our nation and our state down is not progress; Illinoisan and St. Clair county lives are not improving under Democrat policies. I am one person willing to work with others to change our direction, with a focus on making the lives of the families and children of our county better than they were before.
What are the top two issues in your race, and how would you address them?: The most common issues raised by voters in District 2 as I've talked with them are 1) taxes and 2) traffic safety. Property taxes continue to rise, even as inflation consumes families' wages and savings. The county board has minimal influence on the budgets of other taxing bodies, but as a county board member, I am committed to ensuring residents' taxes are assessed fairly. Many residents are concerned about the speed at which vehicles drive through or by their neighborhoods and have recounted accidents which they have seen or experienced. I want to work with the municipalities in District 2 to ensure that our residents do not fear traffic by their homes.
Why should people vote for you?: I am one of 26 Republican [county board] candidates who will be on voters' ballots this fall. By voting for me, or one of the other Republican candidates, voters will say, "We want something better than what we had. We need to move forward, not keep the status quo. We must have accountability from those we elect." Democrats have controlled St. Clair County for decades as "officials." By voting for me, people will be electing a "representative" to the county board.
I should have re-read my response to the last question before sending it as I don't think there will be 26 positions on any single ballot, but the St. Clair County Republicans do have candidates for 26 of 28 county board districts. I hope to be one of those candidates voters select to represent them at the county level.
