Former Aramcon and Alderman Faces Political Challenger
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Author: Linda N. Weller
Released 23 March 2009
ALTON - A political newcomer is challenging an alderman who is seeking his fourth term from the 5th Ward on the April 7 ballot.
Jeremy C. Mills, 28, is running against Charles Brake, 77, who first was elected to the City Council in 1997.
Brake, an Alton High School graduate, attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville but did not complete a degree. He earned a Leeds-Northrup instrumentation/computer orientation certificate. Brake is a retired instrument technician and foreman from Illinois Power Co., and also worked as an instrument specialist/supervisor at Aramco Oil, including a stint in Saudi Arabia.
He also worked as an electrician, installing the control computer for the melt shop furnaces and then the instrumentation at the former Laclede Steel Co. He also worked for the city of Alton as an electrical inspector.
"I have and will continue to offer honesty, integrity, credibility and hard work," Brake said. He said he is running again in order to "help the new administration with the projects in progress, and find solutions for economic problems the city will face as part of the problem the entire nation faces."
He said he would support an outside firm studying ways to cut expenses at City Hall. He would work with the new administration on restructuring city departments, personnel and operations, and reducing the budget.
He would form his opinion regarding the need for any employee layoffs based on results of the study.
"I'm in favor of getting the operations more effective than they are," Brake said. "We are trying to reduce personnel costs as much as we can, because it is 82 percent of the budget."
Brake also said he is against Alby Quarry expanding or being used as a garbage dump in the future. Regarding city taxes, he would increase them "only as a last resort after exhausting all other sources of revenues." Fees, he said, should go up only as costs of services rise.
Mills, an international marketing representative for the Winchester Division of Olin Corp. in East Alton, earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of Mississippi in Oxford. He previously worked at Thomson Reuter of St. Louis.
"I have become very alarmed over the past months as I have watched many businesses close in the uptown area," which Mills called a "community problem."
Among his qualities to be an alderman, he listed his ability to bring together the views and ideas of diverse people and creating plans and solutions to problems.
"I have developed this skill through involvement in special event committees, coaching and in my professional career," Mills said. He touted his Web site for further information: www.jeremycmills.com.
"I believe my background in economics gives me a strong base to draw from as the City Council looks to make financial decisions in these economically hard times," Mills said.
He also believes a thorough audit should be conducted of the city's budget and expenditures, and more should be done to attract new businesses, and taxes and fees should not be increased. He also thinks the city should explore alternatives for the future of Alby Quarry, and not allow it to expand mining or become a dump.
"One of the keys to survival in economic times such as these is maximizing the utility of resources that we already have," he said. "I would not support the laying off of any city employee that is performing to the level required by their position and that is contributing to meeting the needs of Alton residents. I do not think that the city has too many employees, but I do believe that there could be cases where employees are being under-utilized."
Originally published in The Telegraph (Alton, Illinois) on March 21, 2009