Candidate envisions steady unification of city, NU

A piano sits in the middle of Ryan Garton's living room floor.

"Sorry about that," the aldermanic candidate, 34, explains. "We're renovating the house." He points out the gleaming new floors, the speckled countertops and the fresh paint on the walls.

Everything, he said, has been done "step by step."

Garton, who is running for Fourth Ward alderman against incumbent Ald. Steven Bernstein, brings the same determination to political contests as he does to home remodeling. Although a recent Electoral Board decision dropped Garton from Evanston's official ballot because his candidacy petition was incomplete, he intends to campaign as a write-in candidate.

The aldermanic race is Garton's first foray into politics, but he said 10 years of living in Evanston have convinced him that the Fourth Ward faces serious "quality of life issues."

"Our streets are in complete disrepair," Garton said. "And there's been quite a bit of crime and garage break-ins."

Garton said he hopes to set out a timetable for repairing neighborhood streets and lights. But Garton, who holds an MBA from the University of Nebraska, admitted that his greatest ambitions involve local businesses.

"I think Evanston is in a renaissance right now," Garton said. "(The city) needs a long-range strategic plan for growth."

Garton said a plan should include regular road maintenance and small-business investment on Dempster and Main streets.

Garton said he realizes that any plan will require compromise, but he already is familiar with the demands of negotiation.

As a general manager for Star Alliance, which handles contracts between transnational airlines, Garton has traveled the world arranging revenue-sharing agreements between competitors.

"I'm exposed to multimillion-dollar contracts every day," Garton said.

He also sees himself becoming involved in the relationship between Evanston residents and Northwestern, where his wife is an assistant dean at the School of Music.

"The current aldermen have forgotten that Evanston is better with the university than without," Garton said. Admiring the partnership that currently exists between the University Police and Evanston Police departments, Garton has proposed a reconciliation plan for the Evanston and NU communities.

"Right now, Evanston residents aren't allowed to use the university libraries," Garton said. "We could change that. We need to start working in those small steps, bringing the parties together, before we start talking about million-dollar gifts and million-dollar taxes and million-dollar buildings."

Garton said the city should focus on this kind of community development before it starts signing away large portions of an already strained budget.

But the council hopeful still has one of his biggest challenges ahead of him -- the election. Fourth Ward incumbent Ald. Steven Bernstein said he looked forward to the write-in challenge from Garton.

"If he beats me, he's my alderman," said Bernstein, whose campaign manager filed the challenge to Garton's candidacy. "And I want somebody as my alderman who has the sense to know how to fill out a form. He never came in and asked for help. Why not? Is he going to go through his aldermanic career not talking to anybody?"

But Garton called the objection a "technicality" and announced his plan to run as a write-in campaign.

"I've had a lot of calls (from) friends and neighbors who are saying, 'You gotta do this,' and 'We want a choice,'" Garton said. "I'm flattered by all the support that's coming in."

Garton plans to hold "coffees" and neighborhood events to bolster his candidacy.

Garton did not appear at last week's taping of a Fourth Ward debate.

"I was never invited and that's unfortunate," Garton said.

Ashraf Manji, producer and director at the Evanston Community Media Center, said the station tried to contact Garton multiple times to invite him for the debate, but "Garton simply did not respond."

Garton said he will attend an upcoming debate that the Evanston's League of Women Voters is hosting.

"I'm looking forward to that very much." Garton said. "I think the residents welcome that debate and they want a choice."

Reach Anika Gupta at a-gupta-1@northwestern.edu and Lee S. Ettleman at l-ettleman@northwestern.edu.