Palatine Park District Board Candidate: Sue Gould

Name: Sue Gould (Susan E. Gould)

Biographical Information (optional) family, profession, background, etc. 

I am a lifelong resident of Palatine and a graduate of Palatine High School and the University of Denver (B.A., English). I taught Junior High English and Reading for 7 years in District 15. I have worked as a Realtor since 1980. I hold a Managing Broker’s License from the State of Illinois and have the professional designation of GRI. I am a multi-million dollar producer and work at Prudential Starck, Realtors, in Palatine.  My husband, Randy, was a Firefighter/Paramedic for the Village of Palatine for 30 years. Since his retirement he has worked as a fire inspector for the Village of Palatine. We have been married for 41 years and have 2 grown children who are married and we have 4 grandchildren.

How long have you been a Palatine resident?

I have lived in Palatine all of my life. My great-grandparents came to Palatine in 1892. My grandmother, father, brother, sister and I all graduated from Palatine High School, as did my 2 children.

Why are you running for the Palatine Park District board?

I am running for re-election to the Palatine Park District Board of Commissioners because there are some ongoing projects that I would like to see through to their completion plus some new projects that are very exciting to me. I like being involved in the community and being able to provide “something for everyone” recreation to our residents. I have proudly served as a Commissioner since 1993 and have held the offices of President, Vice-President and Treasurer several times each.

What are the issues you believe are important to residents relating to the park district?

I believe that the residents of the Palatine Park District want affordable recreational opportunities for every member of their household. Having safe, clean and convenient facilities are very important, as are programs for all age groups. There should be a program, activity or passive area that can be used on a daily (or more often) basis for everyone.

What if any improvements would you like to see in the way that the park district is run?

I feel that the Palatine Park District is very well run. We have a budget of approximately $20 million and provide recreation for our 83,000 residents with about 80 full-time employees and hundreds of part-time employees. We also rely on our tremendous volunteers throughout the year. In the past year we hired a new Executive Director who has many years of experience in local park districts and with the recreation associations at the state and national level. We have an excellent staff, many of whom have decades of service to us.              

We consistently deliver outstanding service to our constituents. I am particularly proud of the opportunities that we offer through the Northwest Special Recreation Association in conjunction with our neighboring park districts.