Sycamore tow company owner Adam Benn officially enters city mayor race Tuesday

SYCAMORE – A second Sycamore mayor candidate has entered the race for the seat during the second day of filing ahead of the April 6 consolidated election.

Adam Benn, one of the owners of Sycamore-based business Accurate Towing & Recovery, announced his candidacy for mayor and filed for candidacy with the city clerk on Tuesday.

Benn said he has tried to be as involved in the community as he possibly could for years and he ramped up that involvement by organizing drive-by parades through his towing company and putting together a drive-by haunted tow yard for Halloween amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was initially interested in running for alderman, but decided to run for mayor when he heard that Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang said in September he would not seek a second term for the mayor's seat, with Lang saying the COVID-19 pandemic had worn him down and led, in part, to his decision.

“I care about Sycamore, I live in Sycamore and that’s what got me to consider running," Benn said. "I think I could do a lot of good.”

Benn said he's ultimately looking to be a strong voice for the people of Sycamore and he knows there have been a lot of concerns expressed about water issues in the city, especially lately. He said he believes city officials need to address those issues first and foremost to figure out "the what, the where and the why. He said he believes the related class-action lawsuit against the city could be why city officials don't talk about the issue as publicly.

“I think a fresh set of eyes would be good to look for things,” Benn said.

Benn said another top priority of his is the health of small businesses within the city economically burdened by the pandemic. He said the city needs to figure out a plan to meaningfully help them and to keep them in the city. He said the city and the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce's social media campaign urging people to buy gift cards to local businesses is a good start.

“I just feel like we should’ve been doing that a lot sooner,” Benn said.

Benn said he also wants to take a look at relations between the community and Sycamore police and to continue to strive for improvements in that relationship. He said he wants to improve job morale for police officers, especially after the country-wide social justice movement that was spurred by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

“Fortunately, not too much of the craziness happened here, and it’s because we have great officers here in Sycamore,” Benn said.

Benn said he also wants to prioritize growing the Sycamore Fire Department's personnel and find the right people to lead after anticipated retirements in the next few years.

Benn said he felt encouraged about the race after sitting down and talking with fellow Sycamore mayor candidate and current Third Ward Alderman Steve Braser, who recently announced his intent to run for the office. He said he thinks Braser is a great guy and that they are mostly in agreement with a lot of issues – which is refreshing after watching a contentious U.S. presidential election finish up last month, he said.

“At the end of the day … we both have the best interest at heart for the city,” Benn said. " … No matter what, at the end of the day, Sycamore’s going to win.”