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Geneva mayoral candidate Karsten Pawlik states on his website that the theme for his campaign is “true transparency.”
Yet in his campaign appearances and meetings with voters, Mr. Pawlik presents himself as a “construction professional,” and his website says his employment is a “construction professional with 30 years experience.”
However, the candidate’s own LinkedIn page identifies Mr. Pawlik as vice president of operations for the Alpine Demolition Company in St. Charles, where he has been employed for the past 22 years and, prior to that, seven years as a project manager for American Demotion Co.
A takeaway from the website is he is primarily a one-issue candidate. Mr. Pawlik’s campaign website includes several photos of him at the landmarked Alexander Brothers’ Blacksmith Shop (the oldest surviving industrial structure from Geneva’s pioneer settlement era and known to many as the former Mill Race Inn property) at 4 E. State St. His “Vision for Our Community” leads off with a lament about “stalled developments like the Mill Race.”
The “true transparency” candidate avoids mention that the Alpine Demolition Company is the contractor identified in the application for a permit to demolish the landmarked blacksmith shop, filed with the city of Geneva by the Shodeen organization in December 2017. Mr. Pawlik’s own name, as the demolition company’s representative, is on the permit application.
Mr. Pawlik’s campaign platform, according to his website, advocates dismantling the city’s historic preservation apparatus, including:
- Disabling the city’s Historic Preservation Commission
- Eliminating the city’s Preservation Planner staff position
It seems Mr. Pawlik wants to be mayor of a town whose historic heritage and character he doesn’t like very much.
Alan Leahigh
Geneva