A news release landed in my inbox announcing that Buffalo Grove resident David Wells filed a Notice of Intention today to recall Trustee Lisa Stone, the first day that residents could file an intention to circulate petitions.
Surprised? You shouldn't be. The handwriting has been on the wall during the first year of Lisa Stone's term as a Village Board member, and now the hand writing has turned into permanent ink.
Well says in his release that the recall petition will be circulated because "Due to Trustee Lisa Stone's disregard of the Village of Buffalo Grove Code of Conduct Ordinance and her own public statements that she will break the rules if she feels the need, there is a loss of confidence in the methods and ability of Trustee Stone to effectively govern or represent the residents of Buffalo Grove."
It's likely that other recall petitions will be filed -- perhaps not all for Stone. It's possible that the pro-Stone forces will file recall against another Trustee as a possible vendetta claiming that Lisa is a reformer and the rest of the Board is corrupt and unworthy of the public trust.
We've heard that before.
I was hoping, fool that I can be, that maybe, just maybe, Miz Stone would see that her self-proclaimed reformer and independent act has gotten old and that there are reasonable ways to get your messages across.
Keyword in the previous paragraph -- "was".
It ain't happening.
At Monday's Board meeting Stone donned her Holy Grail outfit and once again started her imitation of Muhammad Ali by basically proclaiming "I am the Greatest." The big difference is Muhammad Ali backed up his words with genuine action, not just more useless rhetoric.
Stone's latest grandstanding came in response to a proposed ordinance by Village Board President Elliott Hartstein that provides "for Procedures of the Corporate Authorities of the Village of Buffalo Grove." In essence, how meetings will run.
This was not a censure, nor was it a reprimand of anyone. It was an introduction of guidelines to keep meetings running orderly. OK, so they had been running orderly until Stone arrived.
Liza apparently thinks that if meetings run, it's because there's corruption.
If she had taken time -- on her own -- to review the ordinance, she would have noticed that the ordinance was requested by William Raysa -- the village attorney.
The Board liaison is Hartstein as village president.
Stone, however, took it personally. So what else is news?
You should know the rest. It's nothing new. As the say south of the border, more refried beans.
Stoney said putting time limits hinders public input -- and gloated about the 7 1/2 hour board meeting that focused on OTB -- off track betting. She made it seem as though it was a landmark meeting in the history of Buffalo Grove.
It wasn't.
Meetings have gone long in the village before Stone arrived on the scene; in fact, long before she moved out here. That's because the men and women who served the village worked together on developing the village to the state it is today.
But Lisa Stone wouldn't care about that because there's nothing in it for her -- which is why she ran for the board -- to make a scene for herself.
Has it worked? That depends on your point of view.
Obviously in the minds of at least one resident, David Wells, it hasn't, which is why he is starting the ball rolling to recall Stone from her position on the Village Board.
That could give OTB a whole new meaning. Off Track Betting?
Nah.
How about Off The Board.
Stan- you hit the nail on the head. As usual, Stone made the meeting all about herself. She keeps implying that all sorts of nefarious activity is going on and that she's being muzzled and can't speak up about it. Imagine that- BG has an "evil cabal" that harkens back to the Harold Washington Days. She also talks about all the people who allegedly support her, which is reminisent of the silent majority days of the Nixon/Agnew era. We'll see if there is a silent majority come November. Let's see how many of her "supporters" want to rectify the mistake they made when they voted for her last March.
ReplyDeleteThoroughly enjoyable as usual.
ReplyDeleteRare typo on your part:
long before she moved out hear
Think you meant: here
Ah, yep, I did -- must have been tired after Monday's Board meeting. It's been fixed (the typo, not the Board meeting...).
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Quite an analogy -- Nixon/Agnew, Harold Washington...
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how much support there is for the recall and for Stone. It's been interesting meeting people who have never had an interest in village politics have said they want to sign a recall petition.
As the late Harry Chapin used to say -- the excitement continues to build.
This entire thing is absolutely ridiculous and is an embarrassment to our town. Lisa has done nothing but expose wrongdoing and abuse. Although her methods may be questionable, I still believe that she is the only one on that board actually working for the people.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Wells, can you say sore loser? He was the campaign manager for some failed Trustee candidate. Instead of accepting his loss and inability to garner the proper number of votes the first time, he challenged Lisa's finances in a pathetic attempt to have her disqualified. He lost. So, instead of graciously accepting defeat, he went ahead and tried to get her re-called so that he or his poker buddy can run for the seat. This isn't action in the best interest of Buffalo Grove, this is action in the best interest of David Wells.
As noted in response to the above comment that is posted with another entry:
ReplyDeleteWhat's embarrassing to the village is not the recall effort, but what lead up to the initiative. Yes, her methods are questionable.
Exposed wrong doing? The village has not been found guilty of wrong doing, so I am not sure what she has exposed. All of the Board members work for the residents of Buffalo Grove -- somne flaunt it more than others.
As for Mr. Wells -- he is entitled to voice his concern. Sour grapes? I think there were sour groups and both sides of the ballot -- that's the nature of elections. Would a different outcome had produced different long-term results?
We'll never know. The reality is that right now, like it or not, Wells is doing what he is entitled to do.
Stone is the Sarah Palin of BG. She thinks she knows all the right "buzz words" that sound great but there's absolutely no substance behind them. She is clueless, uninformed, incapable of governing and getting along with fellow trustees and is a lightening rod for unnecessary controversy in BG. I'm tired of hearing her say "I don't know.." "I don't understand.." "Can I do ..." Maybe she should have learned somethings about being a trustee before she decided to run for elected office!
ReplyDeleteLisa Stone a Sarah Palin? Not sure I'd go along with that. Remember, at least Palin had some -- as bad as it was -- experience. Palin is also being embraced by her party and a whole lot of people. Stoney does not appear to be, although she gives the impression that she is.
ReplyDeleteAs for the on-the-job training -- you're right. A little homework can go a long way.
Has anyone considered if this recall is unconstitutional? It might be a good idea.Unless you want B.G. to be a laughingstock. Which it might be already.
ReplyDeleteRecalls have been deemed constitutional. If B.G. is a laughing stock, it's not because of the recall effort. People in surrounding communities are amazed, if not dumbfounded by Stone's behavior and accusations.
ReplyDeleteRecalls can only be granted under state statute, no such statute exsist in Illinois. Attempts have been made to pass such a statute in this state, but have been unsucsessful. We must remember that over 2000 people voted for her and if she is recalled,it would only take one to declare that their rights have been violated.If you are referring to the Cal.recall, that was only done after the state leg. approved it. I wonder if our villiage attorney ever considered this.
ReplyDeleteOur Villiage Fathers may have opened a can of worms in the the future they may regret. If you read the B.G. code of ethics, they are very open to interpretation.The trustees could be under some very watchfull eyes and a simple violation of the code could mean another recall and another recall and another recall. hey, this could be fun.
ReplyDelete