A Shining Moment

Without hesitation, newly elected Councilor Paul Hayes nominated Mr. Becker to be Jacksonville’s next Mayor. The action was swiftly countered as newly elected Councilor Christina Duane nominated Former Mayor Jim Lewis for the job. Moments before the nominations, Hayes, Lewis, Duane (and Dan Winterburn) had been sworn-in to office by City Clerk, Jan Garcia. A written vote was conducted.

 

Moments later, Garcia collected the slips of paper on which all six councilors had written their choice for Mayor. Garcia read each aloud and Becker had received four votes: from Becker himself, Winterburn, Schatz, and Hayes. Becker was declared the winner by a 4-2 vote and promptly sworn-in.

Becker’s first action as Mayor was to resign his remaining two year council seat. As he did so, he told the audience that he liked open discussion and valued all opinions… and that hearing and considering all ideas was the only way one could grow as a person. Next, he read a prepared statement in which he wished for transparency and hoped for a new council that would accept responsibility and actually govern…something wished-for in the past.

 

Filling the vacant two-year council seat proved more difficult and time consuming a task after Jim Lewis nominated David Jesser and Paul Hayes nominated Jerry Mathern for the spot. (Note: Mathern was tapped and filled a three month council vacancy in late 2010 after Linda Meyers resigned her council seat. Mathern did not formally run for council in November, 2010 despite launching a late and somewhat lackluster write-in campaign in which he received the fewest votes.)

Following spirited discussion from the council and public on the merits of each candidate, Garcia again read the vote results – it was a 3-3 tie with Lewis, Duane and Schatz supporting Jesser and Becker, Winterburn and Hayes supporting Mathern).

Deadlocked and dismayed, some councilors and audience members lobbied for tabling the issue until the next council meeting in two weeks. Others, including Paul Hayes, argued that filling the seat now was best as the public was sick and tired of council pushing off things to the future and ignoring its present responsibilities. Hayes’ argument won out as more discussion and public comment filled City Hall. Points made included whether or not council should follow a loosely defined and informal precedent that vacant council appointments should go to the next highest vote getter from the most recent election. Jim Lewis was first to point out that Jesser had won 700 votes in November, just 3 shy of winning a seat. Not appointing Jesser, former Mayor Lewis insisted, would disenfranchise those voters. And, even though he had been appointed to a council vacancy as the next highest vote getter in 2008, Dan Winterburn rejected the request as he shook his finger in the air and defiantly stated that no process or ordinance on the matter existed.

Jim Lewis remained calm and again stated that 700 votes should not to be taken lightly and that listening to the voters was of paramount importance – echoing Mayor Becker’s opening remarks.

The riveted audience was listening intently and again was eager to address council.

Jesser and Mathern supporters were vocal. All made good cases for their man, including those who felt Mathern’s business background and past council and Planning Commission positions gave him the edge in terms of experience.

The mood in the room shifted and grew a bit darker when Planning Commissioner Art Krueger attacked Jesser’s qualifications, posturing that Jacksonville “could not take chances with Jesser.” At this point, the Jesser support team kicked into high gear as four citizens marched to the podium, including yours truly. I argued that Jesser was well-qualified, had serious math and financial skills, had great experience as a Planning Commissioner, had done a great job starting and running JOBA, and represented the younger citizens along with Christina Duane.

With emotions running high, calm and collected Mayor Becker kept the meeting from getting out of control. Christina Duane again appealed for a balanced council. After more testimonial appeals for Jesser and Mathern, Councilor Winterburn then moved to table the issue to a future date. As earlier, the strategic move to delay the appointment was killed as the vote failed in a 3-3 tie.

Shortly thereafter, Paul Hayes admitted that he opposed Jesser because Jesser had “gone after” the Chamber of Commerce’s contract to operate the Visitors Center. Hayes and others failed to explain that an RFP to operate the Visitors Center had been ordered by Mayor Garrett and that JOBA had simply submitted a proposal which was then denied by the council and awarded to the Chamber.

Nell Mathern, Jerry’s wife, was next to address the council. She was a class act as she applauded her husband and Jesser for their willingness to serve as volunteers. Before returning to her seat with applause hanging in the air, she appealed to everyone that the evening’s proceedings should be conducted in a human and dignified fashion. She had no idea that the next two speakers would be the very men she had just complimented.

Standing at the podium, a thoughtful Jesser took the high ground as he countered Hayes’ accusations. Jesser turned to face the audience to set the record straight about his service as Chamber Treasurer and his rationale for starting JOBA. Many in the audience clapped after Jesser said that his only interest was building a better town, stronger business climate and stronger sense of community.

The final speaker of the evening was Jerry Mathern, who, as it turned out, was the hero of the evening. Speaking softly but firmly, Mathern reflected that when he was appointed to fill Meyers’ vacant council seat a few months back, he was adamant about respecting what the people wanted. Still feeling the same way, he then backed Jim Lewis, Christina Duane and others who felt that Jesser’s 700 votes counted for something and deserved to be respected. Mathern also agreed that the will of the people had been clearly expressed in the recent election.

What followed was a shining moment – Jerry Mathern WITHDREW his name from consideration and yielded the vacant council seat to David Jesser! Mathern then received a well-deserved standing ovation, complete with exuberant applause, cheers and pats on the back. In a flash, Jerry Mathern personified gentlemen-citizen-statesmen – one willing to place principles above self-interest. Jerry Mathern had just demonstrated true leadership by example and magically restored faith in our local government and its ability to solve issues with dignity, respect and honor.

 

Within minutes, Mayor Becker, Councilors Hayes, Lewis, Schatz and Duane voted to appoint David Jesser to the vacant council seat by a 5-1 vote. Councilor Winterburn abstained without explanation. For the third time of the evening, City Clerk Garcia administered the Oath of Office. David Jesser then took his seat at the Council table.

 

Footnote: The full 7 member Council then accepted nominations for Council President – the one who fills in when the Mayor is absent. On that front, Jim Lewis defeated Dan Winterburn for the spot by a 4-3 vote.