Downers Grove mayor calls out commissioners opposed to his mayor pro tem appointment

Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett didn’t hold back at Tuesday’s Village Council meeting, calling out a group of commissioners who support a change in the way the mayor pro tem is chosen.

Barnett called an ordinance proposed by Commissioner Chris Gilmartin that alters the appointment process politically motivated.

The dilemma started in May when four commissioners rejected Barnett’s appointment of Commissioner Martin Tully as mayor pro tem.

Barnett said Tully was most qualified for the role, as he previously served as mayor, preceded by several terms as a commissioner. During that time, he twice served as mayor pro tem.

But his appointment was rejected by a 4-3 vote, with Gilmartin and Commissioners Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt. Rob Roe and Tammy Sarver voting against the nomination.

Both Gilmartin and Sadowski-Fugitt read lengthy statements outlining their opposition to Tully’s appointment, but Barnett said neither offered a legitimate reason why Tully was unqualified.

“We are here because some people have decided that they would prefer to have someone else in a position that’s been appointed by the mayor,” Barnett said. “That’s it. It’s not because there’s a code problem. That’s [expletive]. It’s not the case. There is no code problem.”

“This is being used as a partisan tool just like what is going on elsewhere in the country,” Barnett said. “This is a double down. This is a ‘I don’t like what’s going on so I’m going to change the rules.’”

“This is a three-month issue where there are some personal problems on the dais,” Barnett added. “Petty problems on the dais because I didn’t properly respect somebody in their minds.”

Barnett has not made a second mayor tem appointment, choosing instead to name an acting mayor during a July absence.

His inaction concerned Gilmartin, who believes leaving the pro tem position unfilled puts the village at risk.

His proposal requires the mayor to make a second appointment within 21 days if the first mayor pro tem nominee is rejected. If the second nominee appointed is rejected, the position would go to the longest-serving council member.

“The process remains the same: mayoral nomination, council confirmation,” Gilmartin said.

The village’s current ordinance does not require the mayor to appoint a second nominee if the first one is rejected.

“There’s no valid reason to put this off any longer,” Gilmartin said.

Tully said the issue was avoidable and has caused unnecessary drama.

“I have to say I’m disappointed this issue is before us in the first place, and I’m really going to try to avoid opening any new wounds,” Tully said.

“It was a problem that never should have arisen in the first place, and I think it stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of what appoint with consent is.”

Tully said the process is similar to a rebuttal presumption – a legal rule where a fact is considered true unless proven otherwise by the opposing party.

“The mayor gets to pick, and while the pick may not be our choice or everyone’s choice, you go along with that unless you have a basis to rebut that presumption,” Tully said.

“It could have been avoided, should have been avoided and there wouldn’t have been anything to clean up,” he said.

“I’m not in favor of changing the rules to fix a problem that wasn’t a problem in the first place.”

Gilmartin disagreed with Barnett’s contention that no legitimate objections were made to Tully’s appointment.

“I think we were very clear in our reasoning. If you don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do about that,” Gilmartin told Barnett.

“I was hoping that the mayor would make another appointment so we could move on. He chose not to. That in my view is holding the process hostage.”

“The idea that we are somehow making this a political move is ridiculous,” he added.

“You are holding it hostage to make some point that is lost on me, maybe because you didn’t get your nomination through,” Gilmartin said.

Sarver, who was elected in April, said she’s been silent on the issue so far, but not because she was hesitant to comment.

“I’ve been silent because as a new member on this council I find all of this appalling and embarrassing and uncomfortable,” Sarver said.

“There’s got to be an easier way to solve this than waste hours and hours and hours sharing the same thing,” she said.

Commissioner Mike Davenport said he believes the mayor pro tem appointment should be at the prerogative of the mayor.

“Fundamentally what we’re talking about is does the mayor get to choose the mayor pro tem or does the council get to choose the mayor pro tem because that’s what’s happening here with this change.”

The council will consider the ordinance at its Sept. 2 meeting.