Tempers flare between board members during St. Charles City Council meeting
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misidentified one of the alderpersons speaking. It has been corrected.
A St. Charles City Council member used the closing minutes of a meeting this week to lob accusations against another alderperson and call for his resignation.
Alderperson Paul Lencioni strongly criticized fellow council member David Pietryla near the end of the city council meeting on Monday.
“I faced an opponent who David Pietryla, for his own personal reasons and for whatever quest of power, has recruited to run against me,” Lencioni said.
Lencioni accused Pietryla of assisting the opponent’s campaign and abusing his power as an elected official. He then urged him to resign.
The remarks came as unofficial election results show Lencioni trailing newcomer Vicki Spellman in the Ward 3 race. A second challenger in the race, Carolyn Waibel, is behind them both.
On Monday, Lencioni acknowledged his apparent loss to Spellman, who he said will do a great job.
He took issue with one Ward 3 candidate — though never named which — who he said was recruited to run by Pietryla.
Pietryla did not respond to Lencioni’s comments during the meeting. But he refuted Lencioni’s claims via text message after the meeting.
“Mr. Lencioni’s comments are unfortunate,” Pietryla wrote. “I did not recruit any of his opponents. To my knowledge, they ran of their own accord.”
During the meeting, two city council members — Bryan Wirball and Ron Silkaitis — called Lencioni’s behavior inappropriate and disappointing.
At one point, Wirball, who represents Ward 4 along with Pietryla, interrupted Lencioni, asking the mayor for a point of order, which led to shouting between him and Lencioni about who had the floor.
When Mayor Lora Vitek yielded the floor to Lencioni to continue, Lencioni accused Pietryla of using his position on the council to intimidate and bully local business owners. However, he did not elaborate on those claims.
“David has shown a lack of character and moral strength, and David, you should resign,” he said. “You can’t carry the burden of public trust even down the hall.”
Wirball said the city council room is not the place for Lencioni’s comments. Lencioni interrupted to disagree, which led again to raised voices between the two. But Vitek yielded the floor to Wirball.
“I just think it’s really inappropriate to bring campaigning here in the chamber,” Wirball said. “It’s not an appropriate venue for it. You can certainly air your grievance with him if you have it, but very disappointing.”
Silkaitis then responded, leading to a back-and-forth with Lencioni.
“That’s the most inappropriate thing I’ve heard in this council in a long time,” Silkaitis said. “I cannot believe that we’re dealing (with) a political issue about an election that is over. I’m very disappointed in this.”
In his text message after the meeting, Pietryla wrote that he has “a wonderful working relationship” with St. Charles businesses and other constituents.
“I certainly understand his (Lencioni’s) frustrations post election and wish him the best,” Pietryla said. “I have always been available to discuss any concerns; I wish he had reached out to me to cordially discuss his thoughts prior to council.”