By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
There is one contested race among the City and Town of Burlington this spring.
Incumbent Todd Bauman is being challenged for the District 4 Alderman position on the City of Burlington Common Council by newcomer Art Gardner.
Running unopposed for council are Bob Grandi (District 2) and Jon Schultz (District 3).
After initially having no candidates file for the open District 1 position (John Ekes is not seeking re-election), Sue Kott will run as the only write-in candidate for the job.
Todd Bauman
Age: 45
Education: Burlington High School, Class of 1989
Occupation: Route sales representative for Frito Lay
Previous Political Experience: District 4 Alderman, four years, unsuccessful run for District 3 Alderman in 2000.
Family: married with no children
Bauman originally chose to run for alderman because of his father, Rollie, who had a long history of community involvement in Burlington.
“I didn’t really realize all that he was involved with until he passed,” Bauman said. “I saw all of his activities. It just kind of made me take a step back and say, ‘What am I doing to help out my community?’”
Bauman has been a resident of Burlington for 40 years, and a resident of District 4 for eight. He’s also been on the Common Council for four years, which he considers an advantage.
“I would probably have a big head start on all that is going on,” Bauman said.
Bauman said the city has a number of issues to address.
“Downtown redevelopment is probably the largest,” he said. “Being local I also love being to help people today that I have known my entire life.
“That is a very special relationship that I would love to continue,” he added.
Art Gardner
Age: 60
Education: MBA certificate from Rochester Institute of Technology
Occupation: Retired
Previous Political Experience: None.
Family: married with two grown children
Gardner and his wife moved to Burlington about three years ago.
“We set out to look for a place that we could settle in and feel at home,” he said. “Burlington was the perfect fit.”
Since he was retired, Gardner decided to become more involved in the community. He saw the article in the Standard Press last fall regarding the lack of candidates for the Common Council seats, and decided to run.
“I personally think the biggest thing out there right now is the school referendum,” he said. “Everyone seems pretty interested in that.”
Gardner said the city would have to be responsible with its costs in light of the school district’s referendums and other big-ticket items.
“Decisions we make should not be in a bubble,” he said. “We need to make these decisions with other large-scale projects.”
He felt he’d bring a new perspective to the decision-making process.
“My professional career was really rather broad in the exposure it gave to thing,” said Gardner, who worked as a global quality manager for Fellows Inc., an office supply producer with a focus on paper shredding.
“I’m very familiar with alternative methods to get things done,” he added.
Gardner’s website is www.ArtGardner.us.
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