Rick Mervine, Aurora’s 8th Ward Alderman, announced Monday, Oct. 22 he will not seek a new term in office. Alderman Mervine first began serving the 8th Ward in May 2008 and his current term, his third, will be up in May 2019.
“My time on the Aurora City Council serving the residents of my 8th Ward and, in a broader sense, the rest of the city, has been an exciting and important experience in my life. I awoke every day with an opportunity to help Aurora grow and improve the quality of life for us all in my adopted city of 31 years,” Mervine said. His path to serving as alderman started 29 years ago with his service as a volunteer for many city events, including FoxFest Aurora, a precursor to today’s music festival events on the Fox River, the Aurora Sports Festival, a founder of OnLight Aurora, volunteering with food pantries, churches, and the schools of District 204. As an alderman, he focused on economic development and was actively involved in the original development of the city fiber optic network making it available as a tool to attract business, started the Aurora area’s Shop Local campaign for the last eight years along with becoming a driving force behind the revised planning and direction of the Route 59 retail corridor.
Mervine has a strong business background and his management consulting firm of 37 years will become his focus in assisting small and mid-sized businesses to grow and surmount problems. Mervine concluded, “I want to thank the residents of the 8th Ward and the city of Aurora along with my hard-working colleagues on the City Council and city staff for their support and attention to detail. Keeping taxes flat, while improving our city is a valuable outcome.”
— Office of Alderman Rick Mervine