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On openness . . . When he formally announced his candidacy for mayor,
Ward 10 Ald. Bruce Strom placed accessibility and transparency at the
center of his campaign, saying that Mayor Tim Davlin’s administration
keeps citizens and City Council members in the dark too often. To remedy
this, Strom says he would hold office hours in various Springfield
neighborhoods each week in space already owned by or donated to the city.
This week, Strom laid out his full openness agenda.
Tim Davlin Mea culpa —
Davlin, often criticized for authorizing secret negotiations that led to a
deal between the city and the Sierra Club for reducing pollution by
Springfield’s proposed coal-burning power plant, calls not getting
the aldermen involved sooner “one minor deal” he wishes he
would have done differently.
Stroma culpa —
After hearing from reporters that Strom’s campaign staffers limited
questions from the media at Strom’s announcement news conference in
January, Davlin, in an interview, accused Strom of not practicing what he
preaches with respect to openness.
Too much to do, too little Tim — “There
has never been anyone who was not allowed to come through my door, unless
they’ve got an order of protection or something. No one in the city
of Springfield has ever not been allowed to come sit at the table, ever . .
. . It’s all about the schedule,” the mayor says. “I work 10, 12 hours a
day, usually, seven days a week, sometimes six — so I don’t
know how much more open you can be.”
Bruce Strom Mr. Sunshine — Proposes hiring an
independent city inspector general, holding weekly press conferences,
opening three satellite offices, and upping the amount of information on
the city’s Web site, including all requests for proposals, contracts,
bids, and job openings. He also vows to appeal corporation counsel Jenifer
Johnson’s denial of a Freedom of Information Act request for a
2,300-page report on the conduct of two Springfield cops.
An open-and-shut case — “Almost
immediately [after being elected] Mr. Davlin sought to get around public
scrutiny of city contracts. It continued to when he secretly negotiated a
loan to pay for the Renatta Frazier settlement. Then his temporary
sales-tax increase became permanent, with the perception at least, of
aldermanic intimidation. Last spring, he and Mr. [Todd] Renfrow secretly
met with and negotiated a deal with the Sierra Club . . . Finally,
Mr. Davlin was less than forthcoming when he would not acknowledge
double-digit pay raises for his political appointees until confronted by
the media. This is not open government. Mr. Davlin’s attitude does
not afford for proper discussion of issues confronting our city.”
Citizens decide elections. For this reason, from now
until Election Day, we will let candidates explain in their own words where
they stand the on issues that matter to you. Let us know your issues.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Mar 1-7, 2007.
