New president, board seated in Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn government underwent a transition of power Monday night when the term of Village President Mark Pfefferman ended and his newly elected successor, Alex Demos, was sworn in.
Pfefferman, elected in 2009, decided not to seek a second term, falling in line with a town tradition of elected officials serving only a single term.
He was expected to give a closing address before Demos was sworn in, but he said in an email to the Daily Herald that a scheduling difficulty prevented him from attending. It was the only full village board meeting Pfefferman missed in four years.
Demos said Pfefferman was disappointed he couldn't attend, but “worked relentlessly over the last several months to help facilitate this transition.”
“Mark has been one of most enthusiastic Glen Ellyn residents I have ever known,” Demos said. “He has truly practiced what he has preached by putting Glen Ellyn first.”
During his tenure, Pfefferman was one of the major players during contentious negotiations between the village and College of DuPage over jurisdictional matters. The legal dispute centered on the degree to which the college was required to comply with village regulations related to a major capital construction program. It resulted in a three-way intergovernmental agreement that transferred oversight of the college's building program to DuPage County, while the 273-acre campus remains incorporated in Glen Ellyn.
Also during Pfefferman's term, village government brought more economic development responsibilities in-house, with the dissolution of the Economic Development Corporation. Pfefferman and village officials also conducted negotiations on an economic incentive agreement with the Fresh Market grocer that will be coming to Roosevelt Road.
Pfefferman also oversaw the creation of an ethics ordinance, which is an attempt to forbid gift giving, political activity on public time, conflicts of interest and undue influence among village officials.
He also was involved in the hiring of Mark Franz as village manager following the resignation of Steve Jones in 2010.
Pfefferman told the Daily Herald in a September 2012 article that he ran for village president after being approached by residents in 2008, and that he wanted to bring a “unique, objective, transparent solution” to Glen Ellyn. It was a time when the village was dealing with several controversial issues, including Jones' insistence that Police Chief Phil Norton and Community Development Director Staci Hulseberg be demoted for “excessive workplace interaction” via text message. The village board later decided against the demotions.
Recently, Pfefferman decided not to sign the annual village budget as a symbolic gesture because he said it doesn't position the village for future financial success. He also was the lone member of the village board that was opposed to issuing variance requests for the 22 single-family home Amber Ridge subdivision at Sheehan Avenue and Route 53, although he didn't take a formal vote since the village president only votes in the case of a tie.
Pfefferman, 53, was a village trustee from 2003 to 2007 and was a College of DuPage trustee in the 1980s. He is director at TransUnion LLC, a Chicago credit information company.
Demos ran unopposed in the April election for village president, though he did face opposition during the slating process of the Glen Ellyn Civic Betterment Party, the 82-year-old nonpartisan nominating party that helps locals run for office without the “burdens of political fundraising, partisanship and campaigning.”