The Wednesday Journal sent questionnaires to each person running for public office in 2023. The Journal’s questions are in bold and the candidate’s responses are below.
Name: Chris Wollmuth
Age: 51
Previous Political Experience: Previous term on the Park Board
Previous/Current Community Involvement: Volunteer, Park District’s Green Advisory Committee (now the ESAC), director, Hatch-After-Hours (the PTO’s after-school program at Hatch Elementary School)
Occupation: Architect
Education: B.A. in History; Master of Architecture
1. Why are you running for the board of the Park District of Oak Park?
I’m running to continue the work I and the Board began during my first term. That includes making Diversity, Equity and Inclusion fundamental to how the Park District operates. It includes finishing the construction of the Community Recreation Center and, perhaps more importantly at this stage, moving to the next level of ensuring that the operation meets its stated goal of being a place for everyone. It includes continuing to ensure that the Park District uses its resources efficiently and looks for partnerships and synergies with other government bodies as well as local business and citizens whenever possible. And it includes continuing to ensure that the Park District remains a leader in sustainability in the community.
2. What experience and perspectives would you bring to the position and how would they be valuable as an elected official?
I think there are three areas of experience that are particularly pertinent to the Park District. First, I ran Hatch-After-Hours, the after school program for Hatch Elementary School, for four years. Doing so gave me considerable experience in creating, developing and executing class offerings very similar to what the Park District does. As such, I can speak with experience to a large portion of what the Park District does on a daily basis for our community.
Second, I am a local architect with considerable experience in sustainable design. As such, I’ve been able to offer direct and, I think, meaningful input on many of the Park District’s building and renovation projects over the past few years including the new Community Recreation Center. For the CRC, I was actively involved in helping execute the effort to make it NetZero, and continue to be able to advise on other building projects.
Third, after volunteering for what was the Green Advisory Committee, one of three citizen advisory committees of the Park District, for several years followed by serving as Commissioner to the Board for one term now, I think I have considerable experience with the Park District, how it operates and what issues are important to it. That experience puts me in the position to actively contribute to discussions and policy decisions.
3. What do you believe are some of the greatest challenges facing the park district?
I think there are two larger areas that I believe will need to be focused on over the next few years. The first is to continue to be responsive to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues. The Park District has developed a DEI policy and has also incorporated specific action plan for engaging the community in meaningful ways. Those efforts have begun and have achieved some measurable results. But it is just a beginning, and those efforts need to continue and to expand, and push the Park District even further. The second is the opening of the Community Recreation Center. With ambitious goals that include engaging our teens in a more meaningful way, the planning of the CRC programs and executing them to ensure that the building becomes a resource both for teens and the rest of the community will be a real priority and challenge. These are by no means comprehensive, as the Park District has many other issues on its plate, but they make up perhaps the most challenging and important issues I’ll be focusing on in the short term if elected to a second term.
