CANDIDATE SHARES VISION FOR OLYMPIA FIELDS
Desiree Watkins is running for President of the Village of Olympia Fields. Photo provided by STH Media/Sean Howard
Desiree` Watkins, trustee of Olympia Fields, is a candidate for president of the Village of Olympia Fields. Watkins said she is a public servant who is running as president for the people.
Watkins has been a resident of the Southland area for 20 years. The Detroit-native and her husband, Neil L. Watkins, MD, own 20/20 Eye Specialists, with two locations in Indiana. Desiree` Watkins runs the company.
Watkins said her neighbors urged her to run for president of the Village of Olympia Fields. She said when she moved to Olympia Fields, she was asked to join the homeowners association. In 2017, she was asked to join the Olympia Fields Park District Board, but there was a caveat. They wanted her to run for village president, which would come up in 2021. The race for trustee was in 2019. “I decided for my own self, to start as a trustee so I could get a feel for the village, a feel for the employees,” she said.
Watkins said she is very different than the other two candidates who are running for the office of village president. She said while she was door knocking, a resident told her what sets her apart. The woman, who had been a resident of Olympia Fields for 30 years, had seen Watkins’ work as a trustee of the village. “She said, ‘There are some people who run for a title and some people who run to work.’ She said, ‘Desiree`, I see you, and you’re running to work,’” Watkins recalled.
“Those are challenges I can’t overcome alone, I’m one person, so I need to work with our neighboring municipalities. We need to come to the table and analyze and streamline what’s going on in the Southland, so we can all move forward,” she said. She added, when she looks at Olympia Fields, she doesn’t just “look at it in a silo”. There’s no such thing as just Olympia Fields, Flossmoor or Matteson, she continued. “We’re all in this ship together. Either we’re all going to sail on this fantastic voyage or we’re going to sink, so we have to figure out what we’re going to do,” stated Watkins.
Watkins said the key to bringing economic growth, business retention, fiscal management, as well as an improved infrastructure to Olympia Fields, is relationships. She said those things can’t happen if you’re not able to pick up the phone. She said she has the relationships where she can call or text someone to ask for assistance with something.
Watkins said she is able to connect with voters because she is not a “career politican.” She said while people have suggested she run for a state or commissioner’s position, she is in it for Olympia Fields.
“My slogan is ‘I’m not running for office, I’m running for you,’ I am here for Olympia Fields,” she said.
Watkins said her overall vision for Olympia Fields is to create a boutique community, bringing small businesses and community banks to the village.
As trustee, Watkins has implemented trustee informational meetings, where residents can gain information about resources available in the community. Those meetings have included Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Attorney Larry Rodgers, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Kimberly Neely du Buclet and Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin.
“My thing is sharing information. Knowledge is power. And, I notice a lot of people don’t know what’s going on. I feel like I’m the people connector, I can bring people together. It’s going to manifest itself, once I become village president,” she said.
Watkins said she believes in Black reparations and not waiting on anybody else to give us something.
“We need to streamline how we do things, how we spend our money. Once we do that, we can heal ourselves,” she said.
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