PHOTO BY DEAN OLSEN
Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath is sworn into workplace as metropolis clerk on Jan. 7 by Circuit Decide April Troemper, together with his left hand on a Bible held by Bambi Redpath, his spouse of 46 years.
Longtime Springfield alderperson Chuck Redpath was appointed metropolis clerk Jan. 7 by a divided Metropolis Council after a raucous, two-hour-long assembly wherein a number of council members and the general public stated the method was rushed, unfair and corrupt.
The vote for Redpath was 5-3, with two alderpersons voting “current.”
Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano wiped away tears after the council turned down her plea to delay for a minimum of every week a choice to fill the clerk place after the New 12 months’s Eve resignation of former clerk Frank Lesko.
“Because it stands proper now, we’re going to permit again room offers to find out who’s going to be our subsequent metropolis clerk,” she stated earlier than the ultimate vote. “It simply doesn’t sit effectively with me.”
She added: “It’s not changing into of us as a gaggle, it isn’t changing into of this metropolis as a democracy to not have an open course of to pick out the town clerk. … That is an elected, citywide workplace, and the individuals need to have a say.”
However Ward 7 Ald. Brad Carlson, who voted for Redpath, stated the general public had 5 – 6 weeks’ discover to inform the mayor or an alderperson if any others have been within the $89,685-a-year place. The method was correct, Carlson stated.
Notariano stated the town was legally allowed as much as 60 days after Lesko’s resignation to fill the clerk place.
Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford stated, “What’s the frenzy? The job’s going to be there. If different persons are going to use for this, let’s give them their due diligence and allow them to apply.”
Mayor Misty Buscher forged the deciding vote to interrupt a 5-5 tie and defeat Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams’ proposal to place off the appointment, talk about the difficulty on the Jan. 14 committee-of-the-whole assembly after which take a closing vote at a future council assembly.
“It actually ain’t proper,” Williams stated.
Redpath’s appointment additionally adopted a 3-5 vote defeating Notariano’s last-minute proposal to nominate former Sangamon County recorder Josh Langfelder as metropolis clerk as an alternative of Redpath.
Republican Lesko’s 31-vote defeat of Langfelder, a Democrat, within the Nov. 5 countywide election for recorder triggered Lesko’s eventual resignation as metropolis clerk. Langfelder is the brother of former Mayor Jim Langfelder, whom Buscher defeated within the April 2023 metropolis election.
Redpath, who at one time was a Democrat however now’s a Republican, backed Buscher within the nonpartisan municipal election.
Voting in favor of Redpath as clerk have been Redpath himself, in addition to Carlson and alderpersons Erin Conley of Ward 8, Jim Donelan of Ward 9 and Ralph Hanauer of Ward 10. Voting “no” have been Williams, Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory and Ward 4 Ald. Larry Rockford. Voting “current” have been Notariano and Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Buy.
There have been groans and questions raised within the viewers when Redpath was allowed to vote for his personal appointment. However Gregory Moredock, the town’s chief authorized counsel, stated after the assembly that Redpath was appearing legally.
Moredock referred to the 1987 federal consent decree that modified the town to an aldermanic type of authorities from the fee type. The court docket doc says an alderperson is eligible to fill a metropolis clerk emptiness and “could take part within the vote taken to fill the emptiness.”
Springfield resident Ken Pacha advised the council throughout a public remark interval that the appointment course of putting in Redpath “makes you guys look corrupt.”
A number of members of the viewers shouted their criticism of Redpath and his supporters on the council throughout the assembly, prompting Buscher to name for order and threaten to have viewers members eliminated.
Springfield resident Tom Shafer advised the council he supported Redpath’s bid for clerk and counseled Redpath for his service to the town and his navy service within the U.S. Air Pressure and Illinois Air Nationwide Guard. Shafer famous that Redpath, a graduate of Lanphier Excessive College, is a member of that college’s corridor of fame.
Notariano stated throughout the assembly that she wasn’t shocked by the response from a number of individuals within the viewers who have been upset in regards to the appointment course of.
“Sadly, that is what occurs when persons are put able the place they really feel like their voices aren’t being heard,” she stated.
Redpath, 68, a retired state employee and former police officer who represents Ward 1 and has served two completely different stints on the council, totaling 30 years, stated after the assembly that he seemed ahead to concluding his profession in public service as clerk. He stated he doesn’t plan to run for election as clerk when the time period is up in April 2027.
Redpath stated he will get together with the entire council members. He attributed the break up vote to political strain from completely different segments of the neighborhood.
He stated he plans to interchange vacant positions within the clerk’s workplace and improve procedures to scale back stress on the clerk’s different staff and enhance the workplace’s operations, together with the processing of Freedom of Info Act requests.
Redpath stated after the assembly that he was upset when members of the general public criticized his members of the family.
His daughter, Colleen Redpath Feger, is the elected metropolis treasurer and is married to a Metropolis Water, Gentle and Energy supervisor. Redpath’s son, Chuck Redpath Jr., is a metropolis police officer. Redpath’s brother, a former Public Works zoning supervisor, was convicted of aggravated felony sexual abuse and aggravated assault within the early 2000s and within the Nineties, respectively.
“It was very arduous to take,” Chuck Redpath stated of the general public feedback.
Redpath acknowledged that he has walked out of some council conferences over the previous yr when members of the general public attacked him and different council members. Tensions at council conferences have risen within the wake of elevated scrutiny by the general public involving allegations of police brutality, inequitable policing and favoritism towards sure metropolis staff.
“I’m gonna take heed to you all day,” Redpath stated. “I am not going to sit down up right here and allow you to name me a corrupt politician or a racist or anything, as a result of I am not.”
He stated he gained’t stroll out of any extra conferences now that he’s the town clerk.
Members of the general public additionally criticized Redpath for his reference to Springfield businessman Frank Vala, who helped to finance Buscher’s marketing campaign and has contributed to Redpath’s marketing campaign coffers.
Redpath stated Vala’s monetary help by no means influenced his votes as an alderperson.
The turmoil on the council and within the viewers Jan. 7 adopted a tumultuous election that resulted in Lesko unseating Josh Langfelder. Langfelder, the lone Democrat holding countywide elected workplace in Sangamon County, selected Dec. 26 to not pursue a petition looking for a full recount of votes within the recorder’s race.
At a Metropolis Council assembly held previous to Lesko’s resignation, the mayor stated she was accepting resumes from individuals within the clerk place and would ahead these resumes to alderpersons. She stated on the Jan. 7 assembly she had not heard from anybody interested by being thought-about apart from Redpath.
The consent decree doesn’t name for a selected analysis course of by the council for individuals interested by filling such a emptiness, Moredock stated. The decree merely says the emptiness is crammed by a vote of the council, and the purpose at which Lesko departed didn’t require a particular election to be held, Moredock stated.
Notariano and a number of other different alderpersons stated they thought the council wouldn’t take a closing vote on a substitute so rapidly. She and others stated the town ought to have completed extra to tell the general public about an software and deliberation course of.
Along with Langfelder, one other metropolis resident, John P. Thomas, was interested by being thought-about for the job, Notariano stated. However she stated she “didn’t know the right way to deal with that” as a result of she was advised by different council members that there was nothing to debate till Lesko resigned as clerk.
One other metropolis resident, Aaron Cahill, stated throughout the public remark part that he was interested by making use of however didn’t know the way and didn’t see something on the town’s web site. “The method was by no means outlined,” he stated.
