Bristol, Tenn. City Council Candidate: Steve Willinger

Steve Willinger

Age: 62

Address: 123 Douglas Lane, Bristol, Tenn.

Daytime telephone number: (423) 797-0355

Evening phone number: (423) 968-4557

Cell phone number: (423) 797-0355

E-mail address: steve@willinger09.com

Campaign Web site: www.willinger09.com

Party affiliation: Republican

Office you are seeking: City Council

Please answer the following questions about your background:

What is your educational background, including the highest degree you attained (high school, college, advanced degree) and the year it was attained?

Associates degree, Butte Junior College, Durham, Calif.
1 ½ additional years, Chico State, Chico, Calif.

What is your professional background, including your present employer and job description? What other positions have you held in the past? If you are retired, please describe your most recent employment.

BUSINESS CONSULTANT 9/2005 – Present
Steve Willinger Marketing, Bristol, TN
Owner of The Corner Dog

SALES ENGINEER, 6/2003 – 9/2005
MORRIS GROUP, Bristol, TN

NATIONAL SALES MANAGER 3/2000 – 5/2003
FORTUNE INTERNATIONAL Somerset, New Jersey

VP CHANNEL DEVELOPMENT 1999 - 2000
NTERACTION SYSTEMS, INC. Richmond, VA

REGIONAL SALES MANAGER 1985 -1999
MARSHALL MACHINERY, INC. Indian Trail, North Carolina

BRANCH MANAGER 1975 – 1985
ITT BCC

LEARNING CREDENTIALS
Chico State, Chico, CA
Butte College, Durham, CA

CERTIFICATES & LICENSES
Certified Machine Tool Sales Engineer – CMTSE (AMTDA)
2006 Graduate of ENCORE Leadership Kingsport, TN
Licensed Facilitator “Get Clients Now!”™

Are you married? If so, please list your spouse’s name, occupation and any elected offices they hold or have held in the past.

Sherry Willinger, former owner “The Corner Dog House”; currently employed in the Corporate Accounting Department of Electro-Mechanical Corporation.

Do you have children? If so, how many and what are their ages?

David 39, Jason 37, Dean 36, Courtney 30

Do you presently hold an elected or appointed office or have you held one in the past?

Please list all elected or appointed posts and the years you were in office.
No

Have you ever been an officer in a political party, worked in a campaign or been a delegate to a political convention? If yes, please provide details and names of the candidates for whom you worked. No

How long have you lived in the area? If you have lived elsewhere, where have you lived and for how long?
6 Years in Bristol, Somerset, NJ 3 years, Richmond, VA 13 years, Columbia, MD, 7 years, Aiken, SC 7 years, Northern California a whole bunch of years.

Who are your three biggest campaign contributors? How much money have you raised in your campaign? Have you taken any special interest or PAC money? How much money do you expect to spend in your campaign?

Gary Gross, Tom Daniel, Jimmie Warden, raised approximately $800; I have not taken any special interest or PAC money; I expect to spend $1,200 - $1,500

Do you volunteer your time or give money to local causes? If so, please list them.
• Bristol Industrial Development Board Member
• Sullivan County Networks Board Member
• VDBA Entrepreneur Express
• Bristol Business Resource Center
• Bristol Chamber of Commerce Board Member Ex-Officio
• Lebanon, VA Regional Preparedness Action Committee
• Washington County, VA Small Business Committee Co-Chairman
• ETSU Advisory Council
• The Crisis Center, Vice President
• United Way of Bristol Board Member
• Chairman of SCORE (”Counselors to America’s Small Business”)
• Bristol Host Lions Club, Vice President

Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime as an adult? If yes, please give jurisdiction and details.
No

Have you ever filed bankruptcy? If yes, please explain.
No

Have you ever served in the military? If yes, please provide details, including branch of service, highest rank, years of service and date and terms of discharge. US Navy, E-3, 1965-1968; Honorable

Have you or your business ever been the subject of a lawsuit, lien or foreclosure? If yes, please explain.
No

What ties do you have to any business or organization that could profit from action as a city council member? Please explain your plan to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest.
None

Do you have personal or business relationships with other council members that might cause a conflict of interest?
No

Please answer the following questions about issues facing the city.
What makes you the best candidate for city council?

Bristol needs a business representative on City Council. I have been in the manufacturing industry in this region since 1985 and have met and worked with many of our business leaders. In my door-to-door campaigning, I have listened to the concerns of our business owners and they have pointed out several areas that could use improvement; sign regulations and more user friendly system in planning.
Another reason I would be the best candidate for city council is to help change the current condition of our economy. Historically, it has been small business that leads the way to recovery. I am the Chairman of Bristol SCORE and a business counselor that has volunteered hundreds of hours to more than two thousand existing businesses and individuals seeking guidance on how to grow or really start their own business. I know that my experience and proven support of local business will help accelerate our economic recovery.

What is the best thing about Bristol, Tenn.? What is the worst thing?

The best is the people and the worst is the lack of jobs.

Bristol Exide is cutting its workforce by 567 people and other large employers have had large layoffs. What will you do as a council member to attract more employers to Bristol that will bring better paying jobs?

Bristol has an Economic Development Team of seasoned professionals assigned to the task of attracting larger companies like Exide, to our area. I will do my best to aggressively encourage and support business retention. As a council member and professional businessman, I have the responsibility to assist them in any appropriate capacity requested.

Bristol, Tenn., has had two property tax increases to fund school construction and is considering another 8 cent increase. This would be the third increase in three years. Should the city make other budget cuts to offset these increases? If so, what should they include?

I think there is room for the city and council to find additional areas of compromise within the proposed budget. One- half of the proposed increase is to meet state regulations for water and sewer; I am not sure we have a choice about that…as far as the other half goes, there were several alternatives proposed and none of them were warmly received. If I had a vote in this matter, I would do everything possible to avoid any tax increases…I say this because I have not seen tax rates ever going back down, leaving us with another tax increase that will go on forever.

What would you do differently to bring more jobs to the city?

I would invest my time, effort and focus on retention and growth of our local businesses. As the Chairman of SCORE and founding member of the Entrepreneur Express, I have already demonstrated my commitment to business and I am blessed with the experience to help our Bristol business owners identify and utilize the local, state and federal resources available to help them grow, become more profitable and hire new employees.
Aside from school construction, what other capital improvement projects in the city are important to you and how will you fund them? I would vote to continue to improve and invest in our schools. The future of Bristol is our responsibility and our children need the educational environment to compete for the local jobs and the global opportunities that tomorrow will bring