A marketing executive who has lived in Batavia for a decade will be the new alderman representing the city’s First Ward, after the council selected him from a pool of three candidates Tuesday night.
The council chose Carl Fischer to replace Garran Sparks, who resigned recently after announcing he was moving to a new home in North Aurora.
“I’m a big believer in community,” Fischer said, explaining to the council why he wanted the seat. His own father had once served on the city council in Antioch, he said, and he was looking for a way to become involved with the city. He has previously coached youth football and volunteered at the food pantry, he said.
The other candidates were Dan Pepin, who works in banking and is a founder of Keep Batavia Neighborhoods, a group opposed to rezoning land on the city’s east side for an industrial park, and Carl Dinwiddie, a longtime Batavia resident and frequent attendee of city, school district, and park district meetings.
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Mayor Jeff Schielke has the power to appoint a replacement for the council when there is a sudden vacancy. In nearby Geneva, for example, the mayor selects from the pool himself. Schielke said that Batavia’s method of allowing aldermen to choose their own colleague has worked well in the past.
“All of the members will have a say … they have to work with whoever is selected,” Schielke said.
The three candidates were interviewed for more than an hour during the public meeting in front of the audience, with Fischer on screen via Skype from his Philadelphia hotel room, where he was traveling for business.
The council then went behind closed doors to rank the candidates and tally the votes. The candidates were asked a slew of questions, including how they planned to meet the significant time commitment, what they would change about Batavia, and what they thought the three biggest issues facing Batavia were.
Fischer answered that while he does have to travel, he is at a senior level at his company and able to manage his schedule. He said he thinks the biggest issues facing the city and the First Ward were its electric rates, zoning issues, and continued development of downtown.
Ald. Dan Chanzit asked Pepin about his involvement with the neighborhood group opposed to rezoning and he said he would step down if appointed. Chanzit asked Dinwiddie what role his wife, Yvonne, would play if he was appointed. Yvonne Dinwiddie is a frequent critic of the city.
“We are two different people and we have different opinions,” he said. Dinwiddie told the council that he would be an asset because of the amount of time he could invest because he is retired and already spends considerable time researching city issues.
“I wouldn’t be a newbie during the budget process,” he said.
Fischer will be up for election in April’s municipal election, along with six other aldermen. He said he planned to run for the seat in April.