Alton Alderwoman Reflects On Role, Issues Facing Ward 2

Watch Now "Our Daily Show Interview! Carolyn MacAfee Alderwoman Ward 2: The Role of the Alderperson"

ALTON - As the April 1, 2025 consolidated election approaches, Alton’s Ward 2 Alderwoman Carolyn MacAfee shared an inside look at the life and role of an alderperson on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com.

MacAfee said her public service career began with the Alton Pride board in 1984, where she served on the Pride Awards committee. This committee chooses Alton homes to award for their well-maintained appearance; MacAfee later served as the chairwoman of the Beautification and Clean Cities Committee.

Bringing a variety of experience in both the public and private sectors - having worked for major companies, attorneys, and more - MacAfee said she was asked to run for alderwoman by then-retiring Alderman Phil Hanrahan.

While she initially declined, the lack of initiative and responsiveness from the alderman that took Hanrahan’s place sprung MacAfee into action, with some encouragement from Alton’s then-mayor Tom Hoechst. She also cited problems with street conditions, vacant properties, and more issues in Alton she wanted to see action taken on.

“I thought, ‘This would be great - I like doing things for the community and this is my opportunity,’” MacAfee said. “I got enough confidence that I knew I could handle this job.”

MacAfee was first elected as alderwoman on April 9, 2013, and was re-elected twice in 2017 and 2021. By next April’s election cycle, she will have served as Alton’s Ward 2 Alderwoman for 12 years.

In that time, MacAfee said she’s learned a lot from her fellow aldermen and the residents of Alton.

“You learn a lot [about] the process. When you’re a new alderperson coming in, it’s very confusing sometimes,” she said. “As far as the phone calls, I handle that, that was fine - it’s just knowing what to do with the phone calls.”

Learning City Council procedure and listening to constituents are just two parts of the alderperson’s role in local government, which MacAfee expanded on. Doing the job right requires hours of reading, researching, answering calls, and attending meetings, effectively making the part-time position a “full-time job.”

“The job of an alderman, you’re their representative for the city,” MacAfee said of each ward’s residents. “You’re there to make sure that the city is not doing something it shouldn’t be doing,”

Some of the most common concerns MacAfee hears from Ward 2 residents are about a lack of code enforcement and the prominence of derelict houses, but says the deteriorating streets are the biggest issue for residents right now. She sees the best solution to these problems as the reinstatement of the city’s Code Enforcement position, which was eliminated early on under Mayor David Goins’ administration.

At the end of the day, she said an alderperson shouldn’t advance their personal agenda, but the will of the people.

“It’s not what you want, it’s what your constituents want,” she emphasized. “Whether it’s right or wrong, you need to listen to them, because most of the time, it’s pretty basic stuff - they don't want trash on the street, they want new streets … and that’s fine, it’s what I want. I want to live in a nice neighborhood, a safe neighborhood, it’s what the people want.”

For more information and insights into the role of an Alton Alderperson, see the full interview with MacAfee at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

More like this: