Geneva Library trustee named replacement 2nd Ward alderman
Geneva Library Trustee Donald Cummings is moving one building to the east on James Street, as he is the new 2nd Ward alderman in Geneva.
Mayor Kevin Burns appointed Cummings Tuesday night to the vacancy left when Bob Piper resigned in December.
Piper had moved out of the ward earlier in the year while obtaining a divorce, and said he was unable to find a suitable new residence for himself in the 2nd Ward.
Cummings will serve through April 2013. Then voters will choose someone to fill out the remaining two years of Piper’s term.
Piper, unopposed in the 2011 election, was a 2nd Ward alderman since an appointment in December 2006. He was a 3rd Ward alderman from 2000 to July 2004.
Burns said five people inquired about the position, and three actually applied.
One of them was Bob McQuillan, founder of the Geneva TaxFACTS government watchdog group. McQuillan, in an email to news reporters, criticized the mayor for not interviewing him. Burns declined to address the criticism.
“Mr. Cummings is the best-qualified candidate,” he said.
Cummings described himself as having something of a “Libertarian bent.”
Ward: Three people applied for the opening