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Two vie for Batavia council seat

Two people made their case Tuesday for why they should be picked to fill a vacancy on the Batavia City Council.

Dan Chanzit and Jan Magree are seeking to fill the remainder of the 3rd Ward term vacated by Cathy Barnard. They were interviewed by the mayor and 10 of Batavia's 13 remaining aldermen.

Chanzit pointed out how he is different from many residents - he's single, in his 30s, and living in a townhouse he said was probably "half the value" of other houses in Batavia.

"That distinction will serve in my favor," he said, because he knows about the need for affordable housing. He also spoke frankly about the state of downtown Batavia, saying he doesn't find much need to go there. Living close to Randall Road, he can walk to stores, restaurants and the movie theater there, or he goes to restaurants and stores in Geneva that offer fine dining or unique merchandise. Chanzit is a personal banker with Chase Bank on Dunham Road in St. Charles.

Magree, also in her 30s, owns Image Pro Services in Batavia, and is also an insurance claims adjuster. She's a mother of four who recently finished a master's degree in adult education. (When asked if she had the time to attend hundreds of meetings and events each year, she joked: "I don't know what to do with myself now with this free time.")

She spoke of walking home down Wilson Street through downtown Batavia after Sunday's annual Loyalty Day parade, and being "heartbroken" over a lack of small, family-oriented businesses.

"Where's the candy shop? I'd like to maintain the family feel. And wouldn't a bakery be neat?" she said.

Magree also spoke about valuing Batavia's history, noting she has learned more about the town every time one of her children studied it in third grade.

"I want to make sure that is focused on. I think we are losing that a little bit," she said. Asked by Alderman Jim Volk if they could handle sometimes-vitriolic anonymous public criticism, both said they were up to the task. Chanzit, whose application drew derisive comments on newspaper message boards, said it stung the first time it happened, but when he saw comments from the same person again on Tuesday, he smiled and decided it meant "someone out there heard me." Chanzit applied in February for a previous vacancy created by the death of Alderman Linnea Miller.

And Magree said she's developed a thick skin because as an insurance adjuster, she's been called an idiot, a nincompoop and worse by angry, unhappy clients. "There's no winning, and I'm in the middle of it all the time," she said.

The city council will choose the new alderman May 17. The appointee will be sworn in June 7. Barnard's term expires in April 2011.

Only four people attended the session: three newspaper reporters, and a former newspaper editor who lives in Batavia.

Jan Magree