Give us a brief account of yourself and your qualifications to hold office. 

I am a life-long resident of the Rockford area who enjoys our "small town" feel while still being able to commute into the Cities regularly. Both of my parents, myself, and my two children were all graduates of Rockford High School over the years. You could say I am a "lifer", and I am proud to say that. 

In terms of experience, I have spent my career in both a corporate environment coordinating and leading large, global technology programs and in client relations/account management roles negotiating deals that balanced both the best interest of my company and my clients. These roles have required me to engage in planning, budgeting, vendor management, contracting, change management, people management, navigating and resolving friction, communication at all levels, and ensuring clients are satisfied to guarantee a long-standing partnership. All of these experiences are relevant as a council member. Remaining unbiased, listening to all vested parties, incorporating facts and data to support decisions and debating in a healthy way that nets the right result for the community. Collaboration and communication are key. I believe these skills are what makes me a good candidate for City Council. 

Why have you chosen to run for office? 

I feel great pride every time I see our neighbors rally to support a resident with illness or coordinate an event that brings people together. There are many examples of this and many people who continually step up to volunteer or coordinate efforts that have a positive impact to our community. I want to play my part and have a positive impact on our city. I have sat on the City Council for the past year, after filling a vacant seat mid-term. During that time, I have come to understand the inter-workings and complexities that go with providing needed services to our residents while managing taxpayer dollars in the most effective and efficient way - it can be challenging but rewarding. I have chosen to re-run for office as I feel I have skills that benefit the residents of Rockford, and I enjoy the involvement and interactions that this position provides. 

What do you feel are the chief issues that will face our residents during your term in office? 

We live in an area where development is going on all around us. We need to be mindful, and deliberate, on how we manage or take advantage of that. What do we want to look like in the future? How do we leverage the expansion of neighboring cities? How much do we want to expand? How do we keep that small-town feel that we all love? Do we want non-residents to view Rockford as a place to visit? If so, what services do we need to offer to enable that? I would like to better understand how residents feel about these questions and refresh long-term plans done several years ago. We are also limited in the amount of residential development opportunities available to us, so we need to continue to look at ways to generate revenue to

support new enhancements and offerings without having significant impact to taxpayers.

What are your goals if you are elected? 

I am a collaborative, action-oriented person and feel we are all in this together. I would like to find ways to get more input from residents on their vision of what Rockford should look like in the future and better promote how residents can have a voice in decisions being made. I feel we have made progress in communicating/engaging better with residents over the last year. However, there is still room for improvement. Let’s collectively work to let Rockford flourish while also maintaining the integrity it has always had. 

What, if anything, would you change if elected? 

I would like to change the negative perception I sometimes see from residents about our city. We have a strong community, we have very dedicated staff members in our City Hall, Public Works and Fire Departments, we have a very strong network of volunteers who put in endless hours to support the community. To me we are very lucky to live where we live. Hard choices will always have to be made as to where we use taxpayer dollars, and nobody likes feeling their money is wasted. I want every resident to know that they can reach out to any of our offices when they have a question, a complaint or (better yet!) a solution that would improve the quality of life for our residents. Again, this goes to better collaboration and communication with our residents, more visibility to rationale of decisions being made, and promoting more opportunities for them to engage. We are all in this together and I will gladly work to champion that. 

What, if any, email should we use for community members to reach out to you with questions? 

mmvogel3457@gmail.com