The Rockford City Council race includes a mayor seat and two city council positions.

Incumbent Mayor Michael Beyer will seek a third term and is running against current councilor Greg Altringer.

Altringer's council seat, along with councilor Scott Seymour's, are open in this election. Seymour is seeking reelection for his seat and faces Renee Hafften and Rick Martinson in this race.

The candidates were asked to include their thoughts in statements. Each were asked to include in a response:

1. Candidate biography: Please include a short biography of yourself, your background, your personal and professional experiences and any other information you wish to share.

2. Candidate statement: Please comment on the top issues you feel are important in this election. Explain any changes you would like to see made to address the community's most urgent problems.

MAYORAL

Greg Altringer

Candidate biography:

Married 16 years with 3 sons; Member of St. Peter and Paul Church in Loretto; Lifetime resident of the Rockford area; Graduated from Rockford High. Enlisted in the Navy and served in Desert Strom as a Navy Corpsman with the Marines; In 1992 I joined the family business as the VP of Operations where we specialized in manufactured housing and disaster relief efforts across the country; I am currently employed at K. Hovnanian Homes as the Project Manager of Land Development; Rockford City Council 2000 to 2008; served Rockford Planning and Zoning 1998 to 2000.

Candidate statement:

I am proud to be a life long resident of the Rockford area. My time away in the military made me realize just how great my hometown was. During that time, I realized the responsibility I have to be a good steward of my hometown and do all that I can to preserve our values. When you experience other places and notice how bad it can be in other places in the world you begin to value a great place like Rockford. Rockford has so many things that make it great. For example, bumping into old friends at River Days, or forgetting to lock your car and not feeling like you have to jump out of bed to lock it, or knowing most of the kids in your child's class. The list of things to appreciate is long. Most of the people I talk to agree on the great things about Rockford but I do get some suggestions for improvements. The common things that are asked are: when are we going to get a grocery store, how about additional options for family dining, and are we ever going to get our own event center so we can have weddings or large gatherings in our town and not have to go some place else? These suggestions have guided me to what I believe is the key issue for Rockford which is balancing and sustaining growth while maintaining the small town atmosphere that Rockford residents have grown to love. Sustaining growth is important because our population is still too small to attract some of the conveniences we would like or to pay for some of the things that many people would like to have. New business is the key to sustained growth because new and existing businesses need more daytime customers and that can only come from more employment in town. Additionally businesses are good for our community because they bring in high taxes but usually don't require many services from the city; this benefits the residents by helping bring down residential taxes and adds additional dollars for our children's schools. I am asking for your vote so I can continue serving the residents of Rockford and help guide our future so our children and their families will continue to have this special place that they are proud to call home.

Michael Beyer

Candidate biography:

My name is Michael Beyer and I am running for the office of Mayor of Rockford. I have been a resident of Rockford for nearly twenty-five years and a member of the Rockford Fire Department for fifteen of those years. For the past twelve years I have been involved in city government, four as a Council Member and the last eight years as your Mayor.

Candidate statement:

For those of you who have been here for more than ten years, I am sure you have noticed many improvements to our city, new neighborhoods, new parks, an industrial park, and the infrastructure improvements that better serve all of us.

If reelected, I plan to keep the focus on smart growth that is beneficial to the people of Rockford. I moved here because of the small town appeal and I enjoy our town. I am proud of our Council, Staff, and myself that have been able to keep Rockford in check when it comes to taxes. We have been able to maintain only single digit increases in taxes and still add the improvements needed for a city that is growing. I always remember that when decisions are made on what should be in town and what the cost may be, it is my money too.

For those of you who have recently moved to Rockford, I want you to know that I am more than willing to listen to residents questions and/or concerns at the meetings or on the streets. I have always handled those issues and concerns, keeping in mind how it will affect the city as a whole, because I live here too.

Rockford is a small town that is still growing, unlike some other cities, and I would appreciate your vote of confidence to continue as your Mayor with my sights on making Rockford a well-rounded city that we all can be proud of.

Mike

COUNCILORS

Renee Hafften

Candidate biography:

I have been a resident of Rockford for over 20 years. My husband Mark and I have been married for 14 and a half years and our son attends grade 6 at Rockford Middle School. My husband and I are both graduates from Rockford High School. I am a member of the Rockford River Days Committee and recently developed the Teen Zone. Currently, I am a Director at Prudential, with 21-plus years experience in financial services and 15 years in leadership. I hold a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification and am a Registered Principal.

Candidate statement:

I want to contribute in making Rockford a more prosperous community. My experience in leadership, risk management and project management will help attract future businesses our community needs, like grocery stores, restaurants and Senior housing. Our population is growing, which means the needs of the community are changing. We need to keep up with the demand for change. Attracting new businesses for our diverse population, while stills supporting our existing businesses is one of my main goals.

What is most important to me is to get all the facts and make the right decision for the right reasons. We need to determine the value something brings to our community along with the cost to the residents before major decisions are made.

We chose to live in Rockford because it's a great place to raise a family. We love our neighbors and spend many evenings in our backyard sitting around the fire pit. Rockford is the only place I have lived where people truly care about each other. I would like to see others have the same opportunity to be a part of a strong Rockford community far into the future.

Rick Martinson

Candidate biography:

My name is Rick Martinson or as most people know me "Rockford Rick." I was born Oct. 18, 1956, in Springfield to Vernon and Adella Martinson. I am the youngest of 6 children raised on a 160-acre farm outside of Lamberton Minnesota.

I graduated from Lamberton High School and enrolled at Brown Institute earning an Associates Degree in Electronics. I have been employed in the diagnostic health care industry for 30 years. In 1980, I married my wife Sally. We moved to Rockford from Robbinsdale in May of 1987. We have 1 daughter and 2 sons.

I have contemplated running for council for about 3 years. I joined the Park and Rec. Commission approximately 6 years ago and have enjoyed my participation with that group. In the time I have been part of the commission, many projects have been planned and put together. Not all planned projects get approval. Depending on allocations of funding, some projects get delayed or postponed indefinitely. With this experience, I have come to understand the process of local government. I feel that I can look at both sides of a project and offer my opinion from a practical point of view.

I have always been heavily involved with community groups in the City of Rockford and feel that it is critical to "give back". I am proud to be a member of the Rockford Lions Club along with the Rockford River Days Committee. I am also an active member of Our Fathers Lutheran Church. My upbringing on a farm gave me the basics to allow me to be creative and innovative in "getting things done."

Candidate statement:

The City of Rockford has many projects in the works that will need special guidance and decisions. One of our most critical needs is to repair the levy on the Crow River. Through the last several years, erosion has compromised the riverbank and now is the time to repair it while we still can. How to pay for this project will involve some creative ideas.

Another project is the eventual replacement of the City Hall offices and Event Center. I have been involved with the preliminary concept and design from the beginning and feel that this project can take place but with that said we also have to look at the possibility of looking at alternatives that are less costly in this time of financial turmoil.

Economic and housing growth is also critical to Rockford. Even though the economy has been stagnant, Rockford has had some growth in housing. Along with housing we need to encourage more business to move to Rockford to help our tax base. I would like to see a grocery store back in Rockford along with a Senior Retirement Center.

I feel that Rockford is primed for economic growth and I want to be part of the team to help guide some of these projects and ideas to fruition. I believe that Rockford needs to move forward and take pride in itself as being a "Great City on the Crow River."

Thanks, "Rockford Rick" Martinson

Scott Seymour

Candidate biography:

My name is Scott Seymour and I am running for re-election to the Rockford City Council. I have served on the Rockford City Council for 3 years, and prior to that I served on the Rockford Park Commission.

I am employed at a commercial insurance agency. My wife Rosemary is a public health nurse, and serves on the Rockford Park Commission. Our children Joey and Jessie attend Rockford Elementary.

Candidate statement:

The city of Rockford is a special place that offers safe, affordable small town living near a major metropolitan center. As a Councilmember, my first focus is to make sure that we never lose what makes this City special.

When I was elected to my present term, I felt our biggest challenge as a city was to properly manage the rapid housing growth of our community. As a member of the Rockford City Council, I have helped to manage this growth responsibly, ensuring the developers pay their fair share of the infrastructure costs. While our housing growth has slowed, we are still adding one or two new houses every month because we have managed this growth responsibly.

Today, the focus has shifted to controlling expenses. We are all feeling the pain of increases in the cost of gas, and the economy in general. As a Councilmember, my goal has been to help keep our taxes low, while ensuring we continue to provide the resources that our citizens need. In spite of major increases in our fuel costs for our Public Works vehicles and energy costs for our buildings, the City Council has held the line on our budget, and kept taxes low.

As a member of the Council, I have backed efforts to attract new businesses to the City of Rockford. We have hired a consultant to help attract and retain small businesses, which has already yielded results. We recently annexed land to the west of the City to add a new industrial park. Adding this park with help lower our taxes as homeowners, and also help attract smaller businesses such as restaurants and retail to Rockford.

As a Councilmember, I have been supportive of the Rockford Schools. I have been the only Rockford City Councilmember to attend numerous meetings with school officials, including the annual goal setting meetings the last three years, and meetings discussing the referendum. In addition, I was the only City Councilmember to vote against a proposed sales tax this year as it would have competed against the referendum.

I have appreciated the opportunity to serve the City of Rockford, and look forward to getting the opportunity to do more for the City. My goal is to continue to ensure that Rockford remains a great place to live.

Thank you.