Interview with a candidate: Whitney Robbins

Whitney Robbins is a first time candidate for city council. She has served the past two years on Naperville’s Liquor Commission, which is responsible for deciding issues such as which establishments to grant liquor licenses to.

She believes her experiences growing up in Naperville and raising her “three young children,” here provide her with an understanding of the community and investment in it. She works in the telecommunications industry and says that it has taught her, “how to be an entrepreneur,” and given her experience finding a balance between customers’ needs and the company’s needs.

She believes that “public safety,” is an important issue in Naperville. Robbins cited Naperville’s high safety rating but explains that “it happened because … [the] city council continues to put public safety first.” She wants to ensure Naperville is proactive in maintaining a safe community. Some of her concerns include emergency response times, school safety, the current opioid crisis, and mental health. She also hopes to promote “economic development,” because she believes “it’s the best way for [Naperville] to build and maintain [its] tax base.” She says it will help the city “continue to thrive.” She also explains that her experience working in “the technology of sector of the world,” motivate her to help Naperville “streamline and continue services online,” and ensure that the city is “providing the best technology.” She says she hopes to “create an IT advisory board,” to help guide the city in that direction. She also lists traffic as an important issue for Naperville.

Robbins believes the most important aspect of being a city council person is, “the ability to listen and hear everybody,” and to be able to “understand the other person’s view and collaborate.” She also says that “until you really get into a job, you don’t have all the answers.”

If voters want to know more about Robbins’ positions or background, she says they can go to her campaign website, https://www.whitney4naperville.com/, which also has her public contact information if they have questions.