Elmhurst Third Ward Alderman Susan J. Rose, 3rd Ward Alderman is forming a committee to explore running for mayor.

Rose has asked a group of residents from all seven wards to identify resources that will be necessary to run a mayoral campaign in the spring. Rose said she is considering a run for mayor  to meet three primary goals:

1. Grow the economic and tax base of Elmhurst, thereby lowering the individual tax burden on resident.

2. Maintain the highest level of city services for all residents.

3. Put sustainability issues more in the forefront in city practice and policy.

"I believe that I represent a thoughtful and common-sense approach to local government, one that looks to the future as well as one that respects our history," Rose said

Rose has served as an alderman since 1991. In that time, she states, she has seen the city’s business environment go from dire to healthy and thriving.

"In the next few years, we will face significant challenges to the economic stability we have achieved for Elmhurst; and I want to work hard to keep not just the property values of residents high, but their expectations and their pride in this community."

Arriving in Elmhurst as newlyweds, Rose and her husband, Robert, are 38-year residents.

"I fell in love with Elmhurst from the day we moved here; and my love for this town has never changed," she said. "It is one of the best places in the country to live and raise your family."

Rose received her Bachelor or Arts degree from Wheaton College in 1968 and her Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1990. She was elected to her first term as alderman in 1991 and, most recently, re-elected to a fifth term in 2007.