Ex-alderman, two others, apply for Batavia 4th Ward vacancy
Three people, including a former alderman, have applied to fill the 4th Ward vacancy on the Batavia City Council.
Aldermen will interview Jamie Saam, Thomas Connelly and Susan Alderson during the council's committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday.
Saam served as 4th Ward Alderman from May 2013 to June 2015. She then spent five years as executive director of Batavia MainStreet, a nonprofit agency that promotes downtown Batavia. She co-owns Bulldog Plumbing with her husband and is co-owner of a marketing firm that promotes local businesses. Saam, who grew up in Batavia, was inducted on Sept. 23 to the Batavia High School Hall of Honor.
Susan Alderson ran for the 4th Ward seat in 2019, losing to Joe Knopp. She is a senior manager of instructional design for DeVry University, where she has worked since 2009. She also owned a balloon-design shop for several years.
Connelly moved to Batavia three years ago and has lived in the 4th Ward for 18 months, according to his application. He is an attorney with the St. Charles office of Meyers and Flowers LLC. He graduated from Northern Illinois University's law school in 2019; before that, he worked for two years for Echo Global Logistics.
Aldermen will interview the three applicants publicly and then discuss the matter behind closed doors. Then they will announce their selection.
Mayor Jeff Schielke will then make the appointment and swear the new alderman in at a city council meeting.
The committee meets at 7 p.m. at the Batavia Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave.
Knopp quit in September because he is moving out of town. The person selected will serve until the April 2023 municipal election.
The 4th Ward contains most of the northeast quadrant of Batavia.