Palatine councilman resigns, moves to D.C.
When Palatine Councilman Dan Varroney looks back on his 21 years as an elected official, two accomplishments come to mind.
The first? Leading support for a neighborhood-based police program in the late '80s following a rash of burglaries. Palatine's financial solvency, especially compared to that of the state and federal government, is the other.
Varroney says it's with a proud, yet heavy heart that he leaves his post and Palatine. He and his wife, Jeanine, are headed for Washington, D.C., where he will be chief operating officer of American Solutions for Winning the Future.
"It's been a joy to serve the community and work with my colleagues," Varroney said from D.C. "I'm confident others could serve as well or even better. I am not indispensable."
Varroney's resignation becomes effective upon the sale of his home, so there's no specific exit date in place. He'll commute to Washington in the meantime, spending a few days each week in Palatine.
Mayor Jim Schwantz is asking District 3 residents interested in serving to submit a resume to him by Sept. 10, at village hall.
"Palatine has a lot of important issues on the horizon that will continue to shape our future," Schwantz said in a release. "I intend to begin a process immediately to identify a replacement for Councilman Varroney that will continue to represent the people with the same integrity and advocacy that we have all seen in Dan."
Schwantz credited Varroney's leadership and financial stewardship as instrumental in Palatine achieving upgraded bond ratings and balanced budgets.
The council would have to approve his appointment. The appointee will serve until the next local election in April 2011.
Washington is already familiar territory to Varroney, who graduated from The Catholic University of America and has two children living in the city. He is coordinating policy, advocacy, media, marketing and operations at American Solutions for Winning the Future, of which former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is general chairman. Varroney describes the advocacy organization as a tri-partisan citizen action network of more than 1.5 million members.
"Our goal is to create citizen activists that will transform government at every level," Varroney said.