A new direction for Springfield

Springfield Mayor-elect Misty Buscher, who denied incumbent Jim Langfelder a third four-year term with her almost 800-vote margin, pledged April 4 to govern in a bipartisan manner but made a point of thanking the 14 labor unions that helped push her over the top.

“Those unions made a difference,” she told an enthusiastic crowd of several hundred supporters gathered at Boondocks Pub. “Their members are working men and women of our community. They made a difference.”

With some mail-in ballots yet to be counted, the final total as of election night had Buscher, 52, the current city treasurer, with 13,554 votes, or 51.4%, to Langfelder’s 12,782 votes, or 48.5%.

In a concession speech about 9:30 p.m. April 4 to backers of his reelection campaign gathered at the State House Inn, Langfelder, 63, congratulated Buscher for “running a very challenging campaign along with her dedicated supporters.”

In a nod to Buscher’s more than 2-to-1 edge in campaign fundraising, Langfelder, whose father, Ossie, also served two terms as mayor before being denied a third term, told about 200 cheering supporters: “The mayor’s race was about the clash of two titans – the power of the mayor’s office versus the power of the purse, and the power of the purse won.”

The municipal election, during which 34.1% of the city’s registered voters cast ballots, also saw Colleen Redpath Feger defeat Bill McCarty and Lisa Badger for city treasurer.

Redpath Feger, the Springfield deputy treasurer, won with nearly 46% of the 25,420 votes cast, while Bill McCarty, the city’s budget director, received 29%, and Lisa Badger, a Springfield Park Board member, received 25%.

Among the five contested races for four-year terms on the City Council, both the incumbents won. Incumbent Roy Williams Jr. defeated William Eddington, with Williams receiving 824 votes to Eddington’s 703 votes in Ward 3. Appointed Ward 5 Ald. Lakeisha Purchase received 1,056 votes to challenger and former alderperson Sam Cahnman’s 441 votes, and write-in candidate Calvin Pitts received 64 votes.

In Ward 4, with incumbent Ald. John Fulgenzi deciding not to seek reelection, Larry Rockford received 1,169 votes, winning against Jason Ratts, who received 963 votes, and David Yankee, who received 470 votes.

In Ward 6, with incumbent Ald. Kristin DiCenso not seeking reelection, the person she endorsed, Jennifer Notariano, won over Alyssa Haaker, with votes for Notariano totaling 1,349 votes to Haaker’s 970 votes.

And in Ward 7, elected Republican Capital Township Trustee Brad Carlson defeated John Houlihan, with Carlson receiving 1,849 votes to Houlihan’s 1,419 votes. Carlson has said he would resign from the Capital Township board if elected to the City Council.

Incumbent Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin is completing his third consecutive term and was barred by city ordinance from running for a fourth consecutive term.

Elected to new terms without opposition were incumbents Chuck Redpath of Ward 1 with 2,687 votes, Shawn Gregory of Ward 2 with 1,217 votes, Erin Conley of Ward 8 with 2,662 votes, Jim Donelan of Ward 9 with 2,348 votes and Ralph Hanauer of Ward 10 with 3,056 votes.

The crowd at Buscher’s election night party ranged from prominent politicians to the owners of major Springfield businesses and rank-and-file police officers and firefighters. Buscher describes herself as a moderate Republican, though the job of mayor is officially nonpartisan.

“I didn’t run to make a legacy,” Buscher said. “I didn’t run to make a name for myself. I ran because of our community. … And I promise you, in four years it will be better.”

The event was closed to television stations and The State Journal-Register. Illinois Times and WMAY radio were the only media outlets cleared to cover the event.

Buscher campaign adviser Tim McAnarney said they were disenchanted with some media outlets.

“It’s a little difficult these days, getting your message out,” McAnarney said. “She had numerous press conferences on major issues, and the Springfield newspaper – the State Journal-Register – did not cover a single one. Channel 20 TV did not cover a single press conference. So, it’s hard to get your message out to keep the public involved if you don’t have that kind of communication with the news media.”

A key to getting Buscher’s message out was paid advertising, McAnarney said.

“She worked (social media) very hard,” McAnarney said. “And we were able, fortunately, to have enough money to get our messages out because as soon as we had a press conference, she immediately turned it into a mailer, a TV ad, a radio ad.”

One issue in the election was the city’s debt forgiveness of organizations and individuals who owe the city money.

The Langfelder administration forgave a $243,000 utility debt for the Wyndham City Centre and $42,000 in housing fines to politically connected Springfield lawyer George Petrilli.

“It’s certainly a negative for the mayor,” McAnarney said. “It was a very big negative. The bigger question is, there are still hundreds of other cases that have to (be obtained through the Freedom of Information Act) by the Illinois Times. And who knows what else shows up.”

Buscher has proposed an ordinance requiring a City Council vote for forgiveness of debts $10,000 or greater and a monthly public report for all other debts written off.

Carter Hendren, another adviser to Buscher’s campaign, said the key to Buscher’s victory was her grassroots appeal.

“It was a cross-section of the community,” he said. “She did well in the west side, southwest side, and she did very well on the north side in Springfield.  But that was representative of her campaign. It was different groups: a lot of blue collar workers, a lot of white collar professionals, a lot of young people and unions – particularly the police.”

Hendren, who has managed many campaigns, said the most critical element of Buscher’s success was the candidate herself.

“She was energetic,” he said. “She offered new ideas. She offered solutions and she worked her tail off. I don’t think anybody appreciates how much she worked. Those are old-fashioned ingredients, but she made ’em work.”

Among the ideas being pushed by Buscher are beefing up staffing levels in the police department and ending mandatory 12-hour workdays for many officers; revitalizing the dormant beach house and surrounding park at Lake Springfield and making it a haven for food trucks, concerts and outdoor activities; and building better relationships between the mayor’s office and the labor unions representing both city workers and workers involved with city-funded projects.

Gregory, a supporter of Langfelder who represents parts of the city’s impoverished east side, said his constituents “really appreciate the care that the mayor gave in our community, and they want to see that keep up.”

Langfelder lost, Gregory said, because “he had a lot of people stab him in the back. I’m just going to be honest. A lot of people who should have been for him caved to all of these political powers. It shouldn’t really have come down to total control of any mayor. I’m proud of him for standing on his principles.”

A few tears were shed during Langfelder’s concession speech among the mayor’s supporters, but the mood overall was upbeat, with Langfelder and his wife, Billie, walking through the crowd while the song, “Don’t Stop,” played in the background.

“For us,” Langfelder said, “it’s always been about the people – nothing more, nothing less – about serving the people of Springfield, and we definitely left Springfield in a better place than when we inherited it.”

Langfelder, a moderate Democrat who served 12 years as city treasurer and four years on the Sangamon County Board before becoming mayor, said he was “somewhat surprised” that he lost his reelection bid. He said he never was so behind an opponent in fundraising.

“We knew it would be tight, but you know, when you’re up against a lot of money and resources, we did as best as anybody could do,” he said.

He said he will work with Buscher on a smooth transition “so our good works will continue for the betterment of Springfield’s future.”

Newly elected city officials are expected to be sworn in within 30 days.

Dean Olsen and Scott Reeder are staff writers for Illinois Times. Intern Don Howard also contributed to this story.

This article appears in The future of farming.