Issue date: 11/14/00 Section: CITY

Kellogg Prof. Allan Drebin, former master of Ayers College of Commerce and Industry, said Monday he plans to run against Ald. Arthur Newman next year for the First Ward seat in Evanston City Council.

Drebin, 64, said he is currently planning a campaign committee and will file for election in January. Petitions for City Council elections are not due until Jan. 23, 2001, according to the city clerk's office.

"I feel that the way City Council is now working, that there's a lot of confrontation going on," Drebin said. "Instead of working together to build a better community, we have the politicians bashing Northwestern."

Drebin said that though he hopes his bid for the council draws more students to the polls, his chances for election depend on support from non-student residents of the First Ward, which includes South Campus and parts of downtown Evanston.

"I wouldn't be running if I couldn't win," he said. "The NU affiliation cuts both ways. I have a lot of support from residents."

Drebin, who teaches municipal accounting at NU and has worked with the cities of Chicago and Columbia, S.C., on their budgets, said one of his campaign's main points will be Evanston's budget, which faces a $3 million deficit next year.

"The city of Evanston is currently having budget problems, and my experience can help," he said.

Drebin said he also would address the longstanding and often acrimonious debate over whether NU should pay the city for certain municipal services.

To remedy the conflict, he said, he supports private negotiations between NU and the city, followed by a City Council vote on any potential settlement. Appointed officials — not aldermen — should represent the city in the negotiations, he said, because aldermen would hurt the negotiations through a concern for their political images.

"I think there's too much potential for grandstanding," he said. "They want to be a hero to the voters and not have fair and honest negotiations."

Drebin said he would favor contributions to the city from NU, but not through an annual payment in lieu of property taxes. He said he instead would have NU continue its non-financial agreements with Evanston, including partnerships between NU's School of Education and Social Policy and the city's school districts, with occasional financial contributions toward capital projects and infrastructure improvements in Evanston.

NU and the city both should have their needs considered in the debate, he said.

"(NU) does have this land and does have (its) needs," he said. "I think if the climate was better, the university would become a better citizen, and everyone would be better off."

Drebin said Newman has not worked hard enough to bring NU and Evanston closer together.

"The existing alderman has not shown any interest in bringing the city and the university together," he said. "I think I could work with both sides, and I'm confident I can bring them together."

Newman, however, said he welcomed the opposition and that he has worked to better student life, citing his support for the ordinance allowing live music in Evanston, the zoning ordinance paving the way for NU's new Hillel building and for the Church Street Plaza.

"I have a strong record," he said, "and I'm more than pleased to run on my record."

Newman said Drebin's affiliation with NU would not sit well with First Ward voters.

"I don't know that somebody who's on NU's faculty will gain a lot of support from the ward," he said.

Drebin said he hopes his campaign helps students realize the impact City Council has on their daily lives.

"At the present time, the students really have no voice in the government," he said. "I think this would be an opportunity for students to come out and vote and be heard."

Ethelbert Williams, a Medill senior and former vice president of academic affairs for CCI, said Drebin's experience in the community and at NU would be beneficial for both parties.

"Professor Drebin has been so involved in the community," Williams said. "I think he'll do fine. I don't think (City Council members) have some of their priorities straight."

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