Legislative Aide to Senator David Koehler. Dedicated Public Servant.
About My Political Candidate Experience
Hi. I am Aaron Tebrinke I am ran for Sangamon County Board District 17 on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 and won the Primary Election, unfortunately, not the General Election. My background has a common theme: serving the public to contribute to the common good.
Born in Red Oak, Iowa, I have lived and worked in places from Kansas City to Chicago, and ultimately found that Central Illinois is the perfect fit for me. Here in Sangamon County, I was able to achieve the life-long dream of owning a home and put down roots with my wife, Dawn. We are parents to two sons, Garett and Cameron and pet parents to three Chihuahua rescue dogs, Charlie, Porkchop, and Ollie. We also have a cat named Eric, named by our foreign exchange student in 2016. We love life around here, if you can’t tell.
Dawn walking Porkchop and Charlie in his purple stroller.
Ollie, Porkchop, and CharlieEric showing his campaign support.
Home Sweet Home
Springfield has the best of the big city and the best of a small town. If you choose to live here or grew up here and stayed around, you know what a great community it can be. There are some amazing people here who want to work together to make Sangamon County a better community for all of us.
That’s why I want to represent you on the Sangamon County Board. I want all Sangamon County residents to enjoy a safe, welcoming and thriving community. It starts with saying “hello” and listening more than speaking.
Making the Connection
Before I moved to Springfield I spent many years helping the local county and city government in Cass County, Illinois and working at a local newspaper. I found purpose in serving others through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. The VISTAs are people that dedicate years of service with a goal of eradicating poverty in their area of service. It’s been called the Peace Corps for the United States. I was honored to work with teams of passionate people to initiate economic development strategies and a geographic information system to complete infrastructure projects.
Service is important to me. For many years, I dedicated myself to supporting the mission of service lived by the Springfield Dominican Sisters as a multimedia specialist. My favorite project was creating the podcast series called F.L.O.W.cast because it introduced a new and younger audience to the Sisters’ work and it changed the life of the young person that became the host of the show.
Today, I am proud to serve the people of Illinois in the State Capitol as Legislative Assistant to Senator David Koehler.
Creating a Strong Community
It was, and will always be, important to me to work with others to find ways to support a lifestyle that will lead to homeownership. My dad grew up in a sod house—a dirt house. He lived in a world shaped by a fear of being disconnected from people, not having enough heat in the winter or never being able to keep a house clean enough. That never left him, even when he, and his brothers and sisters, lifted themselves gradually out of poverty to become leaders in their communities.
His experience of profound poverty taught me there is never enough money to calm a soul in fear of losing their home, not having enough to eat, or running out of clean running water.
Empowerment
Changing lives is what it is all about. Living in any community, you have the chance to identify future leaders and support them to be their best selves. This community has resources that are underutilized simply because people aren’t aware of them. The community is also full of opportunities. Everyone who wants to come to the table should be invited and welcomed. Relationships with people in our community need to be nurtured with a foundation of respect. Respect is the key. Without respect, we will fail at bridging the divide in our community.
Stewardship
I always prefer to be in the background doing the work that needs to be done. Those qualities are needed to be a good steward of the resources in this community. I feel it is my responsibility to step up, and keep showing up, for this community.
When speaking with community members, I hear a common thread: people in this community feel the Sangamon County Board is not being transparent about their oversight duties and that there is a lack of information about many of the major decisions that are made about taxpayer money.
Other issues that are of concern to Sangamon County voters I’ve spoken with over the past few months are very personal, such as the alleged mismanagement of the animal control causing the preventable deaths of too many animals, the lack of transparency of COVID-19 fund distribution, and other concerns about the entities the Sangamon County Board oversees.
Our community has programs and resources that are underutilized simply because people don’t know about them. I want to change that and help make information about community resources available and accessible to all.
Respecting One Another
There are so many great qualities about this community that are being overshadowed by the mistrust in government and general political fatigue. Fear and ambivalence is clouding over all the good things that make this place extraordinary. We need to respect ourselves, and our neighbors, a bit more each day by not being apathetic about our individual roles in our government. This is our democracy, and it’s up to us to protect it.
Our progress as a nation begins with our neighbors, and our local government. It seems to be the best kept secret that your local government does have the most influence over your life. You need to show up on Election Day—in a couple years—and elect a leader that will listen and communicate what is happening in your local government. You and I both need leaders who are more focused on the people in the community than keeping power confined to only for a few well-connected people.
I am running because this is my community and I want people to be proud of their government, and what can be accomplished when it works. I have helped solve problems for so many people over the years and the best part, the most rewarding part, is when I have solved a problem after doing all the legwork and digging. It is beyond satisfying to see a life changed for the better and see trust building over time.
Aaron on LinkedIn
Connect with me
I love finding ways to experience the most out of life. When I’m not working, I like to garden, play music, take street photos and travel. Connect with me if you talk about any issues I can help you with. If you want to network professionally via LinkedIn, I check it more often than my other social media profiles, so that is the best way to get ahold of me at this time.
