I have not heard a peep from anyone about who will be the new Champaign County Auditor after Mike Frerichs enters the State Senate in January.
I suppose much depends on who will be Champaign County Board Chairman (the vacancy will be filled by the Chair) in January.
Let me just toss a name out there without any basis whatsoever: Patricia Avery.
Any other ideas or gossip?
Is Wysocki out?
Faraci
After all we'll need to find him a job after football season ends...
Would Faraci leave DCEO for the Auditor's job?
i second Faraci
Well, since the Dems control theboard, they ought to find someone who will do what Frerichs did, which is let them have their way with everything. FAraci seems like a pretty good choice.
More importantly for Faraci, he's a buddy of Frerichs, and plum political appointments around here don't happen without Frerichs' support.
No Frerichs Fan:
Still suffering from the bad aftertaste of sour grapes, I see.
How about Laura Frerichs? Keep it in the family.
Fabri - or will he be board chair?
Please not Faraci. Way too smug and in love with himself. His restaurant/bar business going under also doesn't scream great auditor candidate.
Brilliant! Avery for sure. That move heals the Democratic Party, keeps her off Rosales back for an at large seat in Champaign, she can back out of that pledge, Jerry would whip her for Mayor, and best of all, since Beckett and Wysocki easily beat back Shelden's mold assault, Avery would provide great fodder for Shelden to continue his ravings. He needs somebody, and she sure would fit the bill.
I'm not so sure Beckett et al would see appointing Avery as a party-healing measure. If the county Dems are looking for an agreeable sort in the auditor role, would Avery really fit? Furthermore, since there was a previous reference to actual skills needed for the job, does she have them? This isn't a rehtorical question -- I don't know anything about her professional qualifications.
But Mark Shelden might be equally happy to "continue his ravings" with either Avery or Faraci as a target. Paul put up a good fight in a previous County Clerk race, and I have no reason to believe he and Mark are best buds.
Wysocki will not be making the appointment - the new CB chair will - Wysocki will not have 14 votes at the December reorganization meeting.
anon, who is your pick for chair?
14 gridlocked dems, and 13 repubs, so who?
How much does it pay?
I could use a change of pace. :)
Anyone who suggests that Avery doesn't have the skills but that Frerichs did, is, um, maybe, an Al Campanis protege? let's face it, Avery's skill set is way more than frerichs came in with.
Its 12 Dems, 3 Beckettcrats, and 12 Republicans.
If I were a Republican (and I'm not), I'd suggest that they simply nominate their caucus chair for the chairmanship (Knott) and vote in a block for him. Who knows, if there is enough gridlock, you could end up with a minority chair.
If that doesn't happen, the ball is in the Democrats court (along with the fallout of the house of cards that we call Champaign County Government).
As to which Democrat becomes chair - I don't honestly know. Most of the folks on the board have full-time jobs that would prevent the type of commitment needed. Would this be a position Fabri wants? How about Betz? Jenny Putman is the longest serving member of the board - does she deserve a chance to hold the post? Can you say Chairman Langenheim????
Beckett and Wysocki will not have the support of all 12 R's this time around. And they certainly don't have 12 D's behind them. Any Republican who votes for them is a hypocrite after the issues brought up during the election.
The chairmanship battle could be one of the most interesting races ever.
Let me start by saying that I haven't spoken to anyone about either of the issues in this thread, so these are my own thoughts alone, and not indicative of any scuttlebutt or rumor mongering.
The only way I can see to avoid the apparently inevitable mathmatics of gridlock is for somebody to forge another compromise. This time around, it will probably need to be a combination of a handful of Dem board members from outside of District 9 who are willing to move forward, and some kind of real benefit to Repubs in order to garner enough votes there to put a centrist coalition candidate over the top. I think there are probably enough board members from both sides who think Barb has done a decent enough job for her to return as chair.
As for the Auditor's post, my choice would be Jennifer Gentry.
Finance Chair Tapley in return for Wysocki votes?
Nancy Greenwalt-Auditor
Nancy Greenwalt. That would be good. She's smart. She's served on the county board. But she's not interested in being a media hog, just in doing the right thing -- whether or not she gets the credit for it. Hmmm.
Unlike Kevin, I have been talking with Board members of both parties, and one thing is clear: Wysocki can't get 14 votes.
Both Dems and Republicans are tired of being lied to and bullied and lectured like school children. I don't know who the next chair will be, but it won't be Barb Wysocki.
McGinty for Auditor? After all, the county is already heading toward bankruptcy.
Six years of democrat party rule--yep, that's about right.
"Anyone who suggests that Avery doesn't have the skills but that Frerichs did, is, um, maybe, an Al Campanis protege? let's face it, Avery's skill set is way more than frerichs came in with."
I didn't suggest this, if that was your implication. But it fails to answer my question: Does Patricia Avery have the professional qualifications to serve as County Auditor?
You're right, NFF -- the same question could be asked about Frerichs, but he's no longer a candidate for the job.
"Both Dems and Republicans are tired of being lied to and bullied and lectured like school children. I don't know who the next chair will be, but it won't be Barb Wysocki."
RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!
Avery would be a perfect replacement, one absentee office holder for another.
Avery can bring her record of 50% attendance to the auditor's job. That and her ability to think on her feet, as demonstrated by her total melt-down on the night she arrived late for the city council interviews and was shamed into withdrawing her CB candidacy under the glare of the hot lights.
Lorraine Cowart will be the new CB chair. She would bring balance and intelligence to the job. Greg Knott secretly admires her for her leadership abilities, so he would willingly be her Vice-Chair and together they could form a coalition of rural and urban "heavyweights".
Lloyd Carter is another possible Auditor candidate. Folks don't realize his accumen with a calculator and a sharp pencil.
The Cowart/Carter team at CB Chair/Auditor would be a breath of fresh air for the County.