Green Park resident Tammy Witzig was sworn into office last month after winning 56 of the 77 write-in votes to become Green Park Ward 2 alderman. There was no official candidate in the April race after former Ward 2 Alderman Matt Farwig did not seek reelection since he moved out of the city.

Witzig will now serve a term of two years on the board. She had been considering running for the position for about a year prior to the election.

When asked if she was surprised to receive so many of the write-in votes, Witzig said she was not.

“I pretty much campaigned,” Witzig said. “I went out and met people and knocked on doors. I wasn’t surprised that I won, but I didn’t know there were 13 write-in candidates.”

As far as what prepared her for the role, Witzig said she has always had an interest in the meetings in her 10 years living in her ward.

“I was always interested,” she said. “I was going to meetings, seeing things I would like changed, or just talking to people in the neighborhood.”

Witzig is not looking to make any major changes, as she said most are content with how things have been going in the neighborhood.

“For the most part, Green Park is a wonderful place to live,” she said. “And, for the most part, we are all happy with it, but like anything else, there are some things that can be a little bit better or changed.”

As far as changes to be made in the ward, Witzig has a few ideas, one that includes getting more residents involved in the neighborhood watch.

“I’d like to see residents getting to know each other a little bit more,” she said. “We started the neighborhood watch program, so I’d like to see people become involved in that.”

Witzig said she would also like to see more involvement from the community.

“I think that’s something normal in pretty much any city, especially in Green Park where it is a relatively safe area,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of concerns, and I think they feel like they don’t need to be involved if everything is going well.”

The new alderman said she would like to encourage increased attendance at the monthly board meetings, as a way to know neighbors and the Green Park police officers.

Another thing that Witzig said is being worked on is reducing driving violations through local neighborhoods.

“We are working on it along with the officers of the City of Green Park,” Witzig said. “They are working hard to stop the the stop light running on Mueller and Green Park that’s become a real hazard.”

Other than the red light issue, Witzig said Green Park is a very safe place to live.

“I don’t see a lot of challenges,” she said. “Green Park is a great place to live and relatively safe. We just want to keep working toward safety, which is the big reason we established the neighborhood watch program, just to get people involved.”

Witzig said the Board of Alderman continue to listen to the residents of Green Park and know the speeding and stop light issues are a major concern.

“The speeding and running the stop light has been pretty rapid,” she said. “It’s a huge concern in the community.”

Witzig credited the local police department for helping get the problem under control. The police have been working with the neighborhood on the issue.

“They are doing the best they can” she said. “They are patrolling the neighborhood and doing their best to hand out warnings or tickets.”

Witzig said another issue has been drivers cutting through by the Taco Bell and Lion’s Choice on Lindbergh Boulevard.

“That’s another concern because we have a lot of big trucks coming through there,” she said.

There have been signs placed to warn drivers about going into the industrial area, but many continue to ignore warnings.

“As far as the signs go, the City of Green Park and the mayor have already voted and put in the solar flashing stops signs,” Witzig said. “The police will even sit there and patrol. What else can you do?”

As far as goals for the next two years on the board, Witzig said she wants to hear from the residents.

“I’m going to listen to the residents and what they bring to the table,” she said. “We’re going to work at the stop sign running and speeding. We’ve established cameras down in the business court where there have been some break-ins. The budget has been approved and we are going to be putting more lighting at some of the darker areas in some of the wards.”

When some communities are struggling, post-Covid, Witzig said the board has done a great job of managing the budget.

“The mayor and the alderman have done a great job at controlling the budget, investing money and at getting bids on anything and everything that needs to be done,” she said.

Speaking of post-Covid, Witzig is happy to see things getting back to normal in the community.

“We are trying to re-establish the Brewin’ in the Park,” she said. “That’s a great way to get people back in touch with each other. … So, we’re trying to get back in the swing of things and bring people back together.”

Finally, Witzig said she is looking forward to helping the community in her new position.

“I’m really excited to be alderman and thank everyone for voting for me,” she said. “I encourage everyone to reach out with concerns or just to say hello.”