The East Dundee Village Board Monday welcomed its newest member, ending a months-long controversy over a trustee seat that no one sought election to in April.
Andy Sauder, 44, was sworn in as village trustee following the resignation of Scott Andresen from the board. Andresen did not seek reelection in April, but remained on the board because no one ran for the seat and the village attorney determined he could remain in the job because a qualified candidate had not been elected or appointed.
In the months since the election, Andresen and Village President Jeff Lynan have sparred over Andresen remaining on the board, with Lynam maintaining he had the right to fill the vacancy and board members refusing to appoint the mayor’s nominees.
Andresen offered a compromise, saying he would resign the seat when a candidate acceptable to both Lynam and the board was found.
“We’re very excited about Andy joining the board,” Trustee Kathleen Mahony said. “He’s a real level-headed, very calm and thoughtful person.”
Sauder, a web designer for Zeller Marketing and Design in East Dundee, said he’s ready to help the village continue to move forward.
“I look forward to continuing the great work that’s already in effect for the town,” Sauder said after Monday’s board meeting. “I’m really excited to be a part of the change that’s already happening to the town.”
Sauder will hold the seat until 2023, when an election will be held to select someone to fill the two years remaining on the term. Sauder said he has not yet decided if he seek election.
During Monday’s meeting, Andresen and other trustees said Sauder’s appointment should take eliminate one of the board’s biggest conflicts.
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“I would just ask the village board and village president …. that the distractions that have prevented the full operations of the board and the function of this village to this point would come to a halt so that I’m not giving up my seat for no reason,” he said.
Andresen, who has said he remained on the board after the election because he believed it was in the village’s best interest, said he believed stepping down now the board has found someone all can agree on was the right thing to do.
Lynam said he still questioned Andresen’s motives and if they really were in the “best interest” of the village.
“I believe his reasons for holding over were because he didn’t like the result of the election,” said Lynam, who defeated incumbent Village President Lael Miller in the April election. “His reasons were self-centered, vindictive and obstructionist and it ended up causing the village’s reputation harm.”
Three trustee seats were open in the April election when trustees Andresen, Dan Selep and Kirsten Woods did not seek re-election. Two candidates, Sarah Brittin and Tricia Savio, ran for election and won seats on the board leaving one seat open. After the election, Selep and Woods signed affidavits saying they did not wish to continue on the board while Andresen said he would continue to serve.
Though the village’s attorney provided a legal opinion that cited state statute and a local ordinance for Andresen to remain, Lynam began efforts to replace him and proposed two candidates, Dundee Township Park Commissioner Frank Scarpelli and former East Dundee Trustee Jim Carlini, to fill the vacancy.
In October, Lynam said he had obtained his a legal opinion that said he had the authority to appoint someone to fill the seat. He argued if the board did not approve one of the candidates, he could force the issue and fill the seat with or without board consent.
Andresen offered the compromise to keep that from happening and becoming a court issue. Andresen made it clear that neither of Lynam’s candidates were acceptable because they lacked full board support.
When asked if his resignation was a “win” for Lynam, Andresen said he viewed it more as a statement on the mayor’s actions and future.
“What it does is put him on the clock to stop the nonsense and get something done,” he said. “I’m taking away one of his excuses for being completely ineffective.”
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.