Aurora aldermen back Mayor Weisner in latest flap with Lawrence
Next time Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner decides to toss Fourth Ward Alderman Rick Lawrence from a council meeting, he might not have to summon police.
Lawrence's fellow aldermen might show him the door themselves. Several aldermen lined up Wednesday behind Weisner's decision to threaten Lawrence with expulsion from the Tuesday night meeting. Also, city officials suggested Lawrence might be censured for his behavior in other matters.
Lawrence became enraged when his request to ask questions of Aurora Housing Authority appointee Avis Miller was denied by Weisner. Lawrence is a longtime thorn in the side of the authority, questioning its use of tax dollars and the conditions of many of the authority's properties. He routinely calls for the dismantling of the board.
"I'd just kind of like to hear her opinion and view of where we're going with the housing authority and what she feels is good and right in its relationship to the community and the school district and things like that," Lawrence said before voting against Miller's appointment.
Seventh Ward Alderwoman Scheketa Hart-Burns and Weisner objected to Lawrence's questions and suggested Miller be allowed to serve in the volunteer position for some time before being grilled. That denial led to Lawrence and Weisner shouting over each other, with Weisner declaring Lawrence out of order and threatening to have the police officer on duty to escort Lawrence from the room.
Lawrence and Weisner were elected to their current positions in 2005 and have been at each other's throats regularly since then, leading up to Lawrence's brief mayoral campaign last year against Weisner and Third Ward Alderman Stephanie Kifowit. Lawrence withdrew from the race, citing business pressures.
On Wednesday, several aldermen sided with Weisner, saying the city council meeting is not the appropriate place to grill an appointee to a local board.
Sixth Ward Alderman Michael Saville, a 25-year member of the council, said he was surprised at the tenor of the discussion and had never seen anything like it.
"When the mayor appoints someone, we review the resume and any other submittals and vote the person up or down based on that, not on that person's philosophy or issues of the day," Saville said. "The mayor was right. Alderman Lawrence chose an inappropriate forum and could have spoken to (Miller) any time before the meeting to discuss any issues he had."
Hart-Burns was the first to call Lawrence out for his behavior.
"I believe it is inappropriate. We have never asked any committee member of any sort that the city has, for an opinion or a view," she said. "If we do a universal thing, bring the whole committee in, but to ask someone that is newly appointed, I feel is inappropriate."
Eighth Ward Alderman Rick Mervine said he was disappointed in Lawrence's actions.
"In this position, it is essential to do your homework before heading into the council chambers," Mervine said Wednesday. "Last night I had her resume, plenty of time to review it during the week and I was satisfied she was qualified for the job. And that's pretty much the way you would handle that.
"Weisner made a comment that this is not a senate confirmation hearing, and that's right. That's not what this is about."
Lawrence said he was not surprised at the lack of support from his peers, calling them all "minions of the mayor."
"When is the last time any of them told him no to anything?" Lawrence said. "Of course they're backing him up."
Weisner was unavailable Wednesday and had Deputy Chief of Staff Carie Anne Ergo return calls placed to his office. She reiterated Weisner's stance and said a censure of Lawrence is possible because of this and previous "instances that have frustrated the administration."
Ergo said Lawrence and fellow aldermen received a memo from City Attorney Alayne Weingartz this week informing them that a censure of Lawrence might be appropriate, based on two previous reprimands he has received for demanding classified information from staff members. Most recently, Ergo said, Lawrence was accused of harassing IT department staffers who would not provide him copies of the city's $8 million fiber optic network being used to create a business network and attract new business to the city.
"This type of behavior is not productive because it's important for everybody to be respectful of the process," Ergo said of Tuesday's outburst. "One of the things that did happen was that the mayor gave Alderman Lawrence every chance to behave and had to let him know that's (censure) is the road you're going down."
Lawrence countered: "Just do it, already" regarding the potential censure.
"Do it and you'll be going against the wishes of every person in the Fourth Ward who voted me into office to protect their interests," he said.
<div class="infoBox">
<h1>More Coverage</h1>
<div class="infoBoxContent">
<div class="infoArea">
<h2>Stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=380122">Aurora mayor threatens to kick alderman out of meeting <span class="date">[05/12/10]</span></a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Audio</h2>
<ul class="audio">
<li><a href="/audio/aurpick.mp3">Hear the Weisner-Lawrence exchange </a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>