Elgin council to decide whether to fill open seat

An Elgin councilman resigned effective 5 p.m. Friday, and the city council will decide whether to appoint someone to that seat or leave it vacant until the April election.

Rich Dunne, who is serving his third term on the council, had announced in June that he expected to resign in August to move to Washington state, where he got a new job. He made that official at the council meeting on Wednesday night.

"Many have asked what I feel was my greatest accomplishment as a council member," Dunne said at the meeting, after Mayor David Kaptain read a proclamation in his honor.

"I would have to say, it is making the city a safer place for our citizens from those who live in high-rises, to those who need affordable ambulance service, to those who need a safe place to go after school or to sleep at night. But whatever I accomplished, it was not in a vacuum - it was with the support of the city council, staff and most important, our citizens."

Before the meeting, Kaptain said it might be best to leave Dunne's seat vacant until April and let voters decide who should serve the remainder of the term through 2021.

Appointing someone would mean reviewing applications and interviewing candidates with a new council person appointed no earlier than October, Kaptain said. By then, candidates already will have started circulating nominating petitions for the election, Kaptain pointed out.

Kaptain said the city council is expected to discuss the matter in closed session later this month.

The last time the city council appointed someone to a vacant seat was Councilwoman Rose Martinez in May 2014, nearly a year before the next election, Kaptain pointed out.

Altogether, there will be six council seats on the ballot in April, the one vacated by Dunne and those held by Kaptain, Martinez, Tish Powell, Toby Shaw and John Steffen.