RACINE - The 1st district aldermanic race includes two familiar faces and two newcomers.
Incumbent Jeff Coe has been in the seat since 2001 except for a two-year term when Keith Fair defeated him in 2005. Now the two are at it again for the fourth time. This time they are also running against Mercedes Dzindeleta and Renee Mullen.
The first district includes Downtown Racine as well as surrounding residential neighborhoods. It is roughly bordered by Holborn Street, 14th Street, Lake Michigan and the Root River.
The primary is Feb. 17 and the election is April 7.
Jeff Coe
After six years of experience in office, Coe is not ready to give up the job.
"I'm running again because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the district," said Coe, who works as a tool maker at Acro Metal Stamping in Milwaukee.
His focus is on neighborhoods and bringing people together, he said. He has organized a neighborhood picnic almost every year while alderman, he said. He has also worked with students of Walden III High School to build a rain garden.
Even though he has experience in the seat he knows reelection is not a sure thing.
"I don't take anything for granted," Coe said. "This seat belongs to the people of my district … If they don't think I'm good enough they'll elect someone else."
In his years in office he has gone through some personal hardships, including continuing problems with a hand injury at work. Also, due to a pileup of bills, he filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2004 and with the court came up with a plan to repay his creditors. He will be done paying it off by fall, he said. It does not have any bearing on his work as alderman, he said. If anything, "it makes me more vigilant of how we need to live within our means," Coe said.
Keith Fair
When former Alderman Keith Fair lost reelection in 2007, he didn't know for sure if he was going to run again, he said. He tried talking young people who he worked with on the Barack Obama campaign into running, he said. When no one ran, he decided to do it himself.
Establishing opportunities for people to have jobs is his primary concern, he said.
"When those things happen then the quality of life raises," Fair said.
One issue that needs to be addressed to help people succeed is "racial profiling" by police officers, Fair said.
The 1st district is a diverse area with a class of people who are underrepresented, Fair said.
"If a person is trying to do the best that they can possibly do and they are potentially getting harassed and suppressed then we have to deal with that."
Fair is a private investigator and runs an outreach ministry called Judah Ministries. His ministry was evicted from 1500 Washington Ave. in early 2008 for not paying rent but he is now running it from Seventh Street, he said.
He said the Washington Avenue location had problems beyond his control and he is planning to open the case back up to address payments that are still pending.
Mercedes Dzindeleta
Dzindeleta, a massage therapist, is one of two newcomers to the aldermanic race.
"Just like the president-elect, people are looking for change and I'm someone new," Dzindeleta said.
Her primary focus is on pedestrian safety. She has written letters to the aldermen and attended various meetings where she talked about pedestrian safety. But she said not much has come out of it.
By being an alderman she believes she will have a chance for her voice to be heard. For instance, she says there should be speed limit signs posted Downtown and stop signs instead of stop lights. With stop signs, she said people would have to stop and look around at the Downtown shops rather than zooming down the street. She also believes that safer streets for pedestrians would bring more people Downtown because they would feel more welcome.
As alderman she said she would also perform more listening sessions in different places at a variety of times so that more people could attend.
Renee Mullen
Mullen is also new to politics.
She is against the city's proposed nuisance ordinance, requiring landlords to pay for the actions of their tenants. She also wants to start a gardening program, which would help residents build gardens on their property to be self-sufficient.
Seniors with a certain income should not have to pay property taxes as high as they do, Mullen said. Instead of high property taxes, city officials should talk to state representatives about a higher sales tax, she said.
"I might not get (elected) but if some of these programs could go through I'd be happy," Mullen said.
The city could also lower property taxes by reducing the number of building inspectors when they retire and hiring independent contractors instead, she said.
She has worked as a substitute teacher, insurance salesman and loan originator at a mortgage company. But she is currently looking for work, she said. She is also in the process of opening a coffee shop with her mother at 221 Sixth St. called Street Light Christian Coffee Shop.
They have been trying to open it for years, said Racine Chief Building Inspector Richard Heller, but they have not met all of the building requirements.
Mullen said she feels she is a victim of selective compliance, with some business types, like taverns, favored over her business.
Mullen declined to have her picture taken by Journal Times staff.
1st district aldermanic history
Incumbent Jeff Coe and Keith Fair have a history of battling for the 1st district aldermanic seat.
2001: Coe won his first term in office against six-term incumbent Mary Kaprelian.
2003: Coe won his first reelection. Fair lost his write-in campaign. The state ruled his name could not be on the ballot because he had not collected sufficient nomination signatures from electors within his district.
2005: Coe lost to Fair by three votes. Coe also lost a recount and his petition to remove 15 ballots cast by homeless voters.
2007: Coe defeated incumbent Keith Fair by a vote of 217 to 168.
2009: Coe faces Fair for the fourth time. Mercedes Dzindzeleta and Renee Mullen are new to the race.
Source: Journal Times archive
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