Timothy J. Tenke

TIMOTHY J. TENKE

Democratic

BACKGROUND:

• Tenke, 59, seeks a third term as mayor, with the backing of the Common Sense line. He was an insurance attorney who previously won six council terms.
• He pushed through a 6.83% tax hike that busted the tax cap last year and borrowed by issuing bonds, but considered it necessary to limit service and job cuts in a city that had relied on one-shot revenues.
• He cited quality of life improvements as a main accomplishment, including new streetlights; the reopening of long-neglected water wells; Pryibil Beach upgrades and fishing pier repairs; a $350,000 restoration of the Morgan Park bathhouse; and public safety investments, such police computer upgrades.

ISSUES:

• Infrastructure repairs would continue to be a top priority for Tenke. Among them are replacement of the golf course clubhouse, mending of the East Island Bridge’s tidal gates and a study on strengthening the Morgan Park’s sea wall.
• Tenke wants to maintain services while limiting tax increases by examining each department’s budget.
• He touts his fiscal handling on several fronts. He replaced the city’s self insurance fund, which he viewed as risky, with a $10 million insurance policy. He helped draw up a five-year capital improvements and borrowing plan, which led to the purchase of a $1.3 million hook-and-ladder fire truck and would fund an estimated six-figure installation next year of about $1 million in donated turf for the city‘s stadium.