ALTON - During the last election, I supported David Goins, with much hope for his success, preferring him over Brant Walker. I support neither candidate this time. Ray Strebel deserves your vote for mayor of Alton. Please read on, it gets interesting. First, a disclosure: I unsuccessfully ran for mayor against Walker in 2017. I ran against Walker because, prior to Walkers win in 2017, Alton’s crime was trending downward, and the budget was in good order, but crime started increasing and the budget turned into the red soon after he took office. Surprisingly, he claimed the opposite was true, and he also claimed an increase in new businesses under his watch, which was the opposite result I found when I made a FOIA request. Walker’s focus was on quantity, giving him a long list of mostly small accomplishments he could recite during the campaign. But I felt these were mostly basic, everyday things any mayor should do. Alton needs a leader with a well-considered plan bringing
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