Ald. Bancroft backs process used to fill vacancy on St. Charles City Council

St. Charles City Council Third Ward Alderperson Todd Bancroft is standing behind Mayor Lora Vitek’s decision not to take applications from the community to fill a vacancy on the St. Charles City Council.

Bill Kalamaris – the brother-in-law of 5th Ward Alderperson Steve Weber – was seated on the City Council Monday night. Vitek – who recommended Kalamaris fill the post – broke a 4-4 tie on the City Council on whether to appoint him to fill the vacancy.

Voting “yes” were Weber, 3rd Ward Alderperson Paul Lencioni, 5th Ward Alderperson Ed Bessner and 2nd Ward Alderperson Ryan Bongard.

Voting “no” were 4th Ward Alderperson David Pietryla, 4th Ward Alderperson Bryan Wirball, 1st Ward Alderperson Ron Silkaitis and 2nd Ward Alderperson Rita Payleitner. Bancroft was absent from the meeting.

“I would have voted in favor of the appointment because I believe that it’s the mayor’s appointment,” Bancroft said on Thursday. “And there’s precedent for the mayor making this decision. And I think at the end of the day, we should respect the process.”

Bancroft said if he disagreed with the process, he would have abstained from voting rather than voting “no.”

“I think that is an unfair record for Mr. Kalamaris,” Bancroft said. “I would have abstained.”

Prior to the vote, Wirball criticized the appointment process, saying it was not open and transparent. He noted there was no information posted on the city’s website about Balla’s resignation and criticized the decision not to let 1st Ward residents apply for the position.

“In my opinion, this process has missed the mark on providing an equal opportunity for all of the residents in the 1st Ward,” he said in a statement. “I believe this appointment process sends the wrong message.”

Payleitner also voiced concerns about Vitek choosing not to accept applications from the community to fill the vacancy.

“Unlike it has been handled in the past, the mayor chose to unilaterally select a candidate without a broad solicitation of interested 1st Ward residents,” she said in a statement. “I’m not surprised by this move, but I am certainly disappointed.”

Payleitner also said the City Council is not diverse enough. She currently is the only female member on the City Council.

“Clearly there is a lack of diversity here on council, and yet no attempt, when the opportunity presented itself, to remedy,” she said.

Silkaitis, the other person representing the 1st Ward, also thought the city should have taken applications for the vacancy.

“Nothing against the candidate, it’s just strictly the process,” he said before voting against appointing Kalamaris to fill the vacancy.

The vacancy was created after Richard Balla in May announced he was moving out of the 1st Ward. The term ends in April 2023.

Balla was appointed to the City Council last August to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Dan Stellato, who had been on the City Council since 1995. Balla was one of four candidates vying for the seat.

During the meeting, Vitek talked about why she picked Kalamaris to fill the seat.

“Bill represents a skill set we do not have on this council and I think that’s important right now,” she said. “I’m all about progress and moving our city forward with good quality candidates and whether people like the process or not, I follow the rules…The no votes tonight are clearly political.”

Following the City Council meeting, Vitek further explained her decision not to take applications for the vacancy. She noted other St. Charles mayors have done the same thing.

In addition, she noted the City Council had taken applications for the vacancy last year and that people running in April’s election can start picking up election packets in the fall.

“I wasn’t going to do it again when we have people pulling for packets in October for the upcoming election,” Vitek said. “Bill has IT experience and we’re going through a lot of IT stuff. And he has great management experience. I didn’t want to lose this opportunity.”

Kalamaris is the senior director of global technology supplier management for McDonald’s.

“I’m confident that I put the city in the best position that I could with this appointment,” Vitek said. “I wouldn’t do it any other way, whether people agree with the process or not.”

Kalamaris has lived in St. Charles for almost 20 years. While he is Weber’s brother-in-law, Kalamaris said he makes his own decisions.

“Steve and I might not agree with everything, but that’s OK, because that’s part of the process,” he said.