City Of Alton Fifth Ward Alderman Candidate Brian Bergin Explains His Background, Plus Platform

ALTON - Brian Bergin made his announcement of his City of Alton Fifth Ward Alderman candidacy this week.

Bergin stressed that he has been interested in local government for some time now.

"I have had the opportunity to interact with our local government and have seen how it works, and unfortunately, how at times it doesn’t work for its citizens," he said. "Voters pay much more attention to national and state elections without really realizing how much impact the local public officials have on them.

"Local governments impact our lives daily having the responsibility for education, Police and Fire protection, transportation, social services, recreation and public maintenance. All things that affect us daily and impact our quality of life. I know with the current political landscape many of us have political fatigue. I realize that the last thing many want to hear is how someone could serve them in government. I am basically here to tell you what qualifications I have that would benefit the City of Alton, and more importantly the residents of Ward Five."

Bergin continued and said: "I am 57 years old and have resided in Alton for the last 22 years. I have lived at the same address in Ward 5 for the last 18 years. I have been a Business, Computer and STEM instructor at Alton High School for the past 19 years. I am also the Division Chair for the Career and Technical Education Department and helped launch both the Rotary Interact and FIRST Robotics Clubs at the High School. Along with my duties at AHS, I also teach Micro and Macro Economics at Lewis and Clark Community College. My wife, Tricia, is also employed with the Alton School District as School Psychologist. I have two daughters, Alex, who is a junior at Aurora University and McKenna who is a junior at AHS.

"For several years we owned a local business called Roundhere Records, located on State Street in Alton. The store catered to local music and harder to find vinyl and CD’s. My education includes a B.S. in Restaurant Management from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. A Master's in Business Administration from Eastern Illinois University and my teaching certificate from SIUE.

"I am enthused to see so many people running for local offices, especially given the current political climate. When I was collecting signatures for my candidacy, many asked me what political party I was affiliated with. That’s one of the nice things about running for office in Alton is not having to align yourself with a party. In reality, the only people you should be aligning yourself are the residents for your Ward and the City of Alton."

For more information please visit:

https://www.facebook.com/BerginWardFive

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