4 apply to fill vacant Batavia council seat
Four people have applied to fill the vacant 4th Ward seat on the Batavia City Council.
They are:
• Anthony Malay, of the 300 block of Ozier Drive.
• Mary Tiradani, of the 300 block of Hamlet Street.
• Joe Knopp, of the 500 block of Ozier Drive.
• Gerald Lamonte, of the 800 block of Hamlet.
Tiradani has lived in Batavia since 2010, according to her letter of application. She is a stay-at-home mother of three children. Before moving to Batavia, she last worked as a counselor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University's Upward Bound program in Arizona. Her volunteer experience includes serving on the board of directors of Resolution Church in Oswego for two years.
Malay has lived in Batavia since 2003. From 1998 to 2014 he was a teacher in the Batavia district. He now works as UNISERV director for the Illinois Education Association.
Lamonte did not say how long he has lived in Batavia. He is an information technology analyst for Caterpillar.
Knopp has lived in Batavia since 1996. He is a sales engineer for a company that makes sealants. He is also a high school football referee, and a unit commander for the Boy Scouts.
The applications can be seen in the packet for Tuesday's meeting at cityofbatavia.net.
Aldermen will interview them at the committee of the whole meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday. They will then meet briefly in closed session to discuss their recommendation to the mayor. Typically, their recommendation will be announced that night, and Mayor Jeff Schielke will make the appointment at the next city council meeting.
Paula Mueller resigned in August because she is moving out of the ward.
Schielke announced the applicants at a city council meeting this week, and reiterated why the city has an open process. Under state law, it's the mayor who has power to make appointments, with the "advice and consent" of the council.
"We've been doing this for a number of years and I feel it has worked extremely well. You are being selected by the people you are going to come in here and work with," Schielke said. " ... This is kind of the best way we can get democracy in action."