Most 22 year-olds are focused on graduation and finding that elusive first job, but Scott Miner, who in 2013 at the age of 18 became the youngest city official ever elected in Illinois, has his sights set on the mayor's office in Wood River -- giving him the additional title of youngest mayor in state history.
Miner, one of four mayoral candidates in the April 4 election, is a lifelong resident of Wood River and has an obvious affection for his hometown.
“It’s a town full of hard-working men and women, a middle-class town," he said. "We have beautiful scenery, beautiful parks, and we’re right next to the Mississippi River. Everyone knows each other. People are friendly. It’s a warm, caring town.”
A supply chain operations coordinator for BJC Healthcare, Miner said the mayoral position is part time and the city manager is the main authority.
“The city council hires a city manager to run the full-time, day-to-day operations of the city,” he said.
The mayor votes on city policy, along with other council members, but "policy is carried out by the city manager,” Miner said.
Miner thinks he has a good handle on what concerns voters the most.
“The biggest issues that are facing Wood River right now -- number one is business growth," he said. "We’re losing businesses faster than we can gain them, so growth is stagnant. We have crumbling infrastructure, particularly in our sewer system, and that has to be addressed in the next four years. We’re facing issues in trying to clean up the appearance of our city. We’re trying to fight crime and the drug epidemic plaguing not only Wood River but the whole area.”
He's heard voters discussing other issues as well, primarily transparency.
“The city government needs to be transparent and accessible to the taxpayers," Miner said. "One issue I’ve run hard on is that we need to publish the city’s checkbook online. What that would mean is that any expense the city incurs would be easily accessible online, so you or I could go online and see exactly where our tax dollars are going.”
Rather than think he's too young for the responsibilities, Miner considers his youth to be an asset to his campaign.
“I have dealt with criticism of my age during this campaign and the previous campaign," he said. "I overcome that because I talk to people and let them see the kind of person that I am. I think my record as a city councilman speaks for itself. On top of that, I’m fed up with the status quo. We can do the same thing over and over again or we can take a new approach and have a new vision. I think my age allows me to see things with a fresh perspective.”
He also has plans if he becomes mayor.
“In the first six months I would like to have formed a small-business advisory panel made up of small-business owners, residents, as well as city officials," Miner said. "It will help to attract new businesses to the city and to mentor small-business owners currently in the city.”
Renewing hometown pride is also important to Miner.
“I would like to work with city officials and residents to come up with a plan for cleaning up our city," he said. "We need to take ownership of our city and make it proud again.”
The other Wood River mayoral candidates are Cheryl Maguire, Tom Kane and Scott Levan.
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