No interest so far in city’s Ward 3 vacancy

The final piece to the new St. Charles city council will be the person who replaces mayor-elect Ray Rogina as the new Ward 3 alderman. Right now that’s a missing piece since there have been zero applicants for the slot, according to city officials.

Rogina must vacate the aldermanic seat upon being sworn in as mayor at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall. State law requires the mayor to recommend an appointment to fill the seat within 60 days of the opening. The city council then has 30 days after the recommendation to take a vote. The same guidelines were followed when Alderman Maureen Lewis was first appointed to the council in December 2010 following the resignation of former Alderman David Richards.

After his victory in the mayoral race, Rogina said he didn’t have anyone in mind to replace him as alderman. His main goal would be to have a transparent appointment process. To that end, Rogina committed to forming a subcommittee of aldermen to review the credentials of all applicants and narrow the pool to three people. The entire city council would then review the finalists.

But first they have to attract some applicants. Any Ward 3 resident interested in the aldermanic seat should send a letter of interest and a resume to Rogina at mayor@stcharlesil.gov, or through the postal service to 2 E. Main Street, St. Charles, 60174. The deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m. May 17.

All applicants must have lived in the ward for at least one year and not have any delinquent tax nor other debt to the city. Candidates cannot have any felony convictions. The appointee would serve until the municipal general election in April 2015.

“There are many good people who have experience in serving their community,” Rogina said in a written statement. “I encourage any and all persons from the Third Ward to apply for the open position.”