Hickman — ‘alternative’ mayoral candidate
Former Council man Ted Hickman is running for Dixon mayor, and he considers himself a “None of the above” candidate.
Hick man ha s served on the council with all three of the candidates running, and he said they all have their fans and detractors. His goal is to be an option for people who might not vote for any of them while also bringing his longtime experience of being on the dais in four different decades.
“People need a choice,” he said. “You need an alternative, and I’m that alternative character. I’m that blank spot on the ballot where a vote for ‘ None of the above’ (would be).”
Hickman said he was not approached by anyone to run for mayor and doesn’t “have a burning desire” to ser ve in Dixon’s top elected position, but he wanted to throw his hat in the r ing to bring his longtime experience to the role, including running meetings in the mayor’s absence when he served as vice mayor.
“When I run the meetings, I’m a different person than when I’m just a council member,” he said.
Hick man has served four non- consecutive terms on the council dating back to 1968, with his most recent being from 2014 to 2018. Additionally, he also served as editor of the Dixon Tribune in the ‘60s, was the co- founder of Dixon Little League and was the long time chairman of Dixon Toys for Tots, which he and his wife Linda recently retired from.
He also is the author of the column “That’s Life,” a weekly set of musings on local issues and national politics which he has written more than 800 installments of since 1966. One of Hickman’s most notorious, from the summer of 2018, called for a “Straight Pride American Month” in July to counterbalance LGBTQ Pride Month in June. The column, which also referred to gay men as“tinker bells” and “faries” (sic), drew national attention and brought large crowds of protesters to the council chambers in the ensuing weeks.
Hickman did not apologize at the time and two years later, he said his opinion has not changed, emphasizing he feels there is “no reason” straight people can not have their own month.
Since losing his bid for re- election in 2018, Hickman has continued writing his column and running his ranch while also trying to sell it and begin a complete retirement. In his bid for mayor, there are a few issues he would like to see addressed or followed through upon.
The biggest issue, he said, was the “disruption” to the southwest quadrant spur red by the Home - stead development off Pitt School Road which seeks to bring 1,168 homes to the region. Hickman said he initially voted for the project to get it moving and bring a fire station and park to the area as well as fund the Parkway Boulevard overpass. However, he said construction has negatively impacted downtown traffic and the development as is could only make traffic in the area worse once finished.
“T here’s nothing being done with that subdivision to offset the factors that are coming with it,” he said. “If something isn’t done and somebody doesn’t get their head out of the sand and go, ‘ Wait a minute, we really have to address this now,’ there’s no way to avoid a negative situation.”
Additionally, Hickman wants to see the Parkway overpass completed. The project, which has been planned since 1993, aims to connect Parkway Boulevard from Valley Glen Drive to Pitt School Road with an overpass above the railroad tracks to create easier travel for emergency vehicles and greater access to Dixon High School.
Hickman said the city has applied for state, federal and county funds and grants but they have not come in. He said if the southwest development was not enough to finance the overpass, the only other viable option was a half- cent sales tax.
“That wouldn’t be very painful, and that would get it done,” he said.
Regarding the coronavirus pandemic, Hickman said there were not many options with what the state was mandating.
“We just have to hope our population stays bright enough to use their own judgment as far as wearing masks and staying away from people,” he said. “From a city standpoint, there isn’t really any thing we can do except enforce the regulations that Newsom mandates.”
One thing Hickman feels he would bring to the council is an ability to continue pursuing projects until completion. One of these past accomplishments he cited was bringing a four-way stop to the intersection of Midway Road and Highway 113.
“That was an issue for decades,” he said. “I hounded on it every single meeting, and they chose to follow it up and got it done.”
Hickman is running a low- key campaign, not having a campaign site or committee and not taking in contributions or endorsements. He also is not expecting to win but reiterated his position of running to provide another option for voters.
“I’m just simply running on my own on my name and my word,” he said.
The other mayoral candidates are Vice Mayor Steve Bird, incumbent Mayor T hom Bog ue and Councilman Devon Minnema.