Name: Martha Davidson
What office are you seeking: Kane County Board District 2
What is your political party?
What is your current age? 67
Occupation and employer: Freelance writer
What offices, if any, have you previously held? I haven’t held a public office but I’ve served on organization boards.
City: North Aurora, 50 years in Kane County
Campaign website: Martha Davidson for County Board (FB)
Education: B. A.in English literature, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
Community involvement: I have volunteered as an English language tutor at Dominican Literacy Center in Aurora and served on the board at the Congregational Church in Batavia when my daughter was growing up.
Marital status/Immediate family: Married, one child
What are your top three priorities for this district?
Fiscal responsibility, ethics, environmental protection, communication and transparency
Should the County Board regulate short-term rentals? If so, what regulations would you want to see?
I think municipalities should regulate short-term rentals if the so choose
How would you like to see the former Fabyan Parkway jail site redeveloped? Should all or part of the property be sold?
I would like to see the county establish a nature park there, complemented by its proximity to the trail system.
Last year, the board was divided on a “We Stand Against Hate Week” proclamation. What is your view on it?
Excellent idea. The board should encourage standing against hate in the spirit of existing laws against hate crimes.
The Kane County Board has limited federal immigration enforcement on county property. Do you support that move? Do you support the Illinois TRUST Act more broadly and what, if any, reforms to it would you like to see?
Yes. Counties and local law enforcement should not cooperate with unilateral Trump administration initiatives that federal lawmakers representing our residents had no say in.
The county board is expected to have another tight budget season this year. Looking ahead, if you must decide between raising the property tax levy or cutting programs, what would your choice be? What specific areas of spending would you prioritize cutting? How much further are you willing to dip into reserve funds to avoid program cuts? Do you support the diversion of RTA revenue from transportation to public safety?
Examine programs and staffing in all departments for redundancy and continue requiring departments to cut costs. Having been employed in the private sector during the severe recession, I know cuts can be made in creative ways without affecting services.
Along those lines, are you willing to consider other new revenue sources like asking voters again to approve a countywide safes tax increase or increasing the motor fuel tax?
The county could consider a referendum for implementing sales taxes on luxury items that negatively affect public health such as tobacco and soda, rather than additional tax on necessary items like food and gasoline.
One financial stressor is the end of COVID-19 relief dollars. What should the county do with programs funded by federal COVID-19 dollars?
The Covid funding never was expected to be permanent and while the funding helped the county pay to complete infrastructure improvements projects, t was temporary funding not intended to sustain programs indefinitely. Again, the county should look for program redundancies.
What is your stance on solar energy facilities or data centers on agricultural land? Does the risk of lawsuits factor into your stance? What about battery storage?
These are relatively new issues and he county should thoroughly study the possible repercussions for the public from these types of facilities and their placement.