Familiar face appointed to vacant seat on Des Plaines board
A longtime former Des Plaines alderman has been appointed to his old seat.
Don Smith was confirmed Monday night as the new 7th Ward alderman, replacing Joanna Sojka, the 29-year-old freshman alderman who died unexpectedly Aug. 18 of an apparent stroke. Aldermen voted 5-2 to confirm Mayor Matt Bogusz's appointment, with Aldermen Dick Sayad and Jim Brookman opposed.
Smith, 56, who served as alderman from 1997 to 2009, was Bogusz's first choice to fill the vacant 7th Ward seat, but confirmation of his appointment was tabeled by the city council Sept. 15, with some aldermen saying they wanted time to talk to Smith.
Third Ward Alderman Denise Rodd, a friend of Sojka and council ally of Bogusz, said residents of the 7th Ward were "anxious to have representation."
"I think it's time to set politics aside and do what's right in the best interests of the residents of the city of Des Plaines," Rodd said.
Some aldermen took aim at those comments.
"We're politicians. Anything we say is politics," Sayad said. "A lot of things that have been done through the administration has been political, but I noticed you haven't raised your hand and said, 'Hey, let's stop this politics.' ... There's a difference between politics and doing the right thing. I myself want to give someone in the 7th Ward a representative that I'm going to be comfortable with that I feel is going to serve the 7th Ward. I'm not just going to push somebody through."
Sayad asked Smith why he rarely held ward meetings with residents during his tenure. Smith said he didn't see the need for them at the time and was able to get input from residents in other ways but would consider having them in the future.
Brookman said he respects Smith but voted against appointing him because of Bogusz's Facebook post of Sept. 10, in which the mayor said Smith "is a true contrast to many of the people he previously served with and is ready to apply lessons learned over his years of service to help Des Plaines to move forward and further away from the politics of the past."
Brookman, whose wife Carla was 5th Ward alderman before his election in 2009, said "it is not politics to ask a former elected official to be treated with respect and dignity."
Smith, who was forced to step down after voters approved rules limiting elected officials to serving no more than two consecutive terms, has said he would likely run for election next April to serve the remaining two years on Sojka's term.