Michael Batchelor - For Upper Alton

Don't forget to vote! I've written where I stand on the Mayoral Election below.

I get it, many of you who voted for David Goins this last time feel like he didn’t live up to our expectations, or you have reservations about Brant Walker that often stem from personal matters but not his political accomplishments. At the end of the day, I will give both Mayor Goins, and Mayor Walker the benefits of any doubts. While their styles are drastically different, I truly believe that their hearts are in it, and they want to truly change Alton for the better.

Alderman Strebel states he is running on Public Safety, Infrastructure, and fiscal responsibility. Folks, I’ve sat in the front row for every city council meeting for over a decade now, and I can tell you firsthand that talk is cheap. I see the bill listings too, and every time our Chief of Police has ever put in a request, every council and every mayor have supported them 100%. So if he is “finally” going to give them the resources they need, what else can we give them? What magic resource is available that only Ray knows about to keep us safe?

True fiscal responsibility would make sure that our smaller and poorer businesses are treated no differently than the rich and powerful. We give millions of tax dollars to huge corporations or entities that are double-dipping by getting breaks from the Governor and even congress! That’s not responsible, that’s giving kickbacks and perks to a friend while letting others struggle!

He apparently is also the ONLY candidate who has the “courage and forward thinking it takes” to fix our roads? As much as we think Alton is unique, we are just one of THOUSANDS of other river and former big industry towns facing the same issue. Our population continues to fall but the number of our roads is the same. For arguments sake, let’s say money were no object, and we could completely tear out and repour every single street in Alton. First, it would take more than a decade to accomplish, and by the time we were finished because of our harsh winters and summers, we would already have to begin to redo the streets that we began with. In addition to those repairs, we would still be fighting with American Water to actually fix the problems they create when they tear out sewer or water lines.

Alderman Strebel can light as many bridges as his heart desires, but ask any city hall employee if he knows how to build them. He throws tantrums in council meetings, but is worse off camera. These are public servants, not his personal employees to order around. Oh and by the way, Our Fire Department is top notch, gives us better insurance ratings and lower premiums, and should be given every bit of funding they need as first responders too, Ray.

While I grew up over in the literal backwoods and rougher portions of the 1st Ward for most of my life, I have been blessed to be a citizen of Upper Alton for going on 8 years now. His answer at the debate about his plans to address Upper Alton concerns instead of just downtown should be the final disqualifying factor. He admitted that he didn’t really have a plan and needed more research as he represents a ward far away.

Folks, We don’t have time for him to learn on the job. He has said on camera that he has asked our HR director for training materials for the Alderman to better learn about his job. He isn’t a normal Employee. 194 individuals in Ward 3 voted for him after he campaigned on his business skills, and experience with municipalities and government agencies up north. Those life experiences are your training, and the election your job interview. If you didn’t know what the job entailed, you shouldn’t have ran to begin with! There were 3 other men closely behind you in the polls who didn’t need their hand held.

So I’ll close with this, Ray Strebel has proven ineffectual as an Alderman by every measure. We can’t afford to promote him.

-Mike

PS. Lauren Wilson is a godsend and we need to elect her City Clerk!

We are now less than a week from election day 2025. Early voting and mail-in ballots have shown to be very low. The election Tuesday actually has more sway in your life than the congressional or Presidential elections do.

This 100% effects your property taxes, business taxes, & who runs your kids school boards. It determines the men and women we rely on to fill our potholes, and keep our streets safe with local and practical solutions instead of Washington or Springfields one size fits NONE solutions. These local elections don't garner enough attention, but they should. Please Vote!

It's almost that time of the year where we get to go Rockin with Robert! But we need your help! In order to afford our amazingly talented musicians and keep up the hard work of keeping Upper Alton clean, we could use your assistance! So bring the family to BreadCo (Panera for those not originally from here) and be sure to add us at checkout. Every little bit helps!

Mark your calendar and help us raise funds to continue our Rockin' with Robert concerts, displaying the flags on holidays and maintaining the hanging baskets! Hope to see you at our fundraiser!

Where to begin? The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind of emotions. From the crimes on Broadway, to the horrific incident this morning, our city has been rocked to its core. I'm pleased to hear that Officer Averbeck will recover, but the APD lost K9 Odin as he protected his handler Allen. Keep all of our First Responders in your thoughts and prayers. They are out risking their lives to save others.