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Republican predictions that their party would take
control of the officially nonpartisan Springfield City Council came to
fruition in Tuesday’s municipal election. Sangamon County Republican Party chairman Tony Libri
predicted the outcome based on pre-election polling that showed Republican
candidates leading in several contested wards [R.L. Nave, “Elephants
in the room?” April 12]. Meanwhile, the Democrats who prevailed — Gail
Simpson in Ward 2, incumbent Frank Kunz of Ward 3, Sam Cahnman of Ward 5,
and incumbent Mark Mahoney of Ward 6 — are a motley bunch whose
alliances with Mayor Tim Davlin may not be as solid as some Democrats would
like. In Ward 10 — formerly represented by Ald. Bruce
Strom, who lost his bid to replace Davlin — Republican county board
member Tim Griffin beat Barry McAnarney, a Democrat, in what Libri
characterized last week as the party’s most expensive contest. In Ward 8, Kris Theilen, who was endorsed by a couple
of county Republican powerhouses in outgoing incumbent Irv Smith and
Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson, bested George Petrilli. In Ward 7,
which had been represented by Judy Yeager for 12 years, another Republican
county board member, Debbie Cimarossa, defeated Joe Rock. Steve Dove, who was also backed by Republicans, will
succeed Tom Selinger as alderman in Ward 9. Frank Edwards, who was
unopposed in Ward 1, regained his seat by default. Ward 4, a predominantly working-class area, will also
be represented by Republican Frank Lesko, who defeated Mike Buscher, who
had the backing of outgoing incumbent alderman Chuck Redpath. Lesko’s victory ensures that the council will
continue to maintain its unusual triple-Frank dynamic, despite the
departure of Ward 2 Ald. Frank McNeil. Whether he’ll be the frankest, franker, or just
another Frank remains to be seen.
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Apr 12-18, 2007.
