Four vying for 5th District

RACINE When voters in the citys 5th District head to the polls this month to vote in the spring primary, they will have candidates for both mayor and alderman to select.

With current 5th District Alderman Melissa Kaprelian-Becker not seeking re-election, four candidates are running to take her place.

The top two vote-getters in the Feb. 17 primary will advance to the general election on April 7. It is the only aldermanic race with a primary.

Bordered by English Street, the Union Pacific railroad tracks, Melvin Avenue and Lake Michigan, the 5th District includes the Racine Zoo, and about a mile stretch of the Douglas Avenue business district. What it is mostly comprised of, however, is middle class neighborhoods.

Here is a brief look at the four candidates seeking to represent the residents of those neighborhoods:

Sue DeKeuster has never run for public office but she has spent her fair share of time at public meetings. A regular speaker during the public comment period of City Council meetings in recent years, the Racine native said she is running to serve the 5th District because shes not happy with the decisions being made and wants to make a difference.

I have a lot of friends that have moved from the city, and the main reason for that is the crime and the lack of jobs, said DeKeuster, a staff accountant. What I see, in my opinion, is a lot of money that should be going to educating kids and bringing businesses in here, being wasted.

If elected, DeKeuster, 66, said she would also like to focus on issues specific to the 5th District, including working to clean up the bike path along the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the western edge of the district near her home. She would also like to meet with the Douglas Avenue Businesses Association and get involved in Neighborhood Watch.

Monte Osterman may already have a job as a local representative the Indiana native has spent five years on the Racine County Board of Supervisors serving District 3 but there has always been something about the position of alderman that has attracted him.

Thats why hes running to represent the citys 5th District, he said.

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Four vying for 5th District