Newly elected fourth ward alderman Robert Snow is ready to address the needs of his ward and all of DeKalb.

Snow said his interest in running from alderman came from the current fourth ward alderman, Brendon Gallagher, whom he has known for many years.

“I was sitting with our current alderman one day,” Snow said. “I knew he wasn’t running. He encouraged me to run for the position. I was from DeKalb, I knew DeKalb had good management. I decided to step up and show my skills.”

Snow said he has experience in accounting and business management, and he has a law degree. Gallagher thinks Snow deserved his win.

“Bob has been a resident of DeKalb for many years,” Gallagher said. “He’s raised four kids here, he’s been my neighbor for many years. He’s dedicated to the community. He’s a perfect fit for what you want to see in the fourth ward and he was an excellent, excellent choice.”

After earning his law degree at Augustana College, Snow was assistant to the dean at NIU. He retired in 2007 and continued to work part-time until 2008.

Snow said he hopes to work on the relationship between DeKalb and NIU.

“This is a time of change and opportunity,” he said. “I have had an opportunity to meet with the incoming NIU president, and I see evidence of NIU and DeKalb police working together. This cooperation will extend to other areas.”

Snow said he hopes to increase the relationship between DeKalb and NIU by pushing to bring the university and the downtown area closer together. Snow is trying to get ideas as to how to get more NIU students interested in the downtown area. Mayor-elect John Rey said Snow’s experience with NIU gives him an advantage in this relationship.

“Robert has excellent experience,” he said. “He has studied and completed his law degree and has been employed at the university. His experience with the university and his business experience in the community give him excellent credentials for being alderman. He is good at dealing with issues in his ward and in the city, and will be a strong resource in long term planning of the city. I look forward to working with him.”

As far as city planning goes, Snow hopes to make DeKalb more attractive.

“I think we need to make DeKalb an inviting environment,” he said. “DeKalb will grow, but we need that infrastructure to see that growth. I want the entrance at South Fourth Street and East Lincoln Highway to be more inviting. This can be done by property improvement.”

Other improvements Snow hopes to see are more upscale restaurants, more banquet facilities and more small businesses.

“We don’t need more national retail chains,” Snow said. “We need more entrepreneurs. There’s no specific issue I ran for; I just wanted to make sure the City Council made good management decisions.”