Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas vetoed the city council’s 5-2 vote in favor of a revamped Advisory Human Relations Council, redesigned to serve both the needs of the mayor and the city council.
The veto action from Costas came Thursday.
The city council meets at 6 p.m. Monday, providing the opportunity for further discussion and debate if the council decides to address the matter. The ordinance is not on the meeting agenda, which was released late Thursday.
If another vote is called on the advisory council, a minimum favorable vote of 5-2 can override the mayor’s veto.
At the last council meeting on July 28, the ordinance, which was crafted and introduced by Valparaiso City Council President Ellen Kapitan and fellow at-large member Emilie Hunt, found further support from Barbara Domer, D-3rd, and Robert Cotton, D-2nd, along with a noticeably hesitant vote by Diana Reed, D-1st.
Peter Anderson, R-5th, and Jack Pupillo, R-4th, voted against the ordinance.
“I informed the council by email Thursday about my decision to veto this ordinance,” Costas said Friday morning.
He said he decided not to sign the ordinance as it passed because he believes the current make-up and function of the advisory council is “very effective” for advising him in his role as the city’s executive.
“I’ve continued to urge the council to create their own Human Relations Council or a similar committee by selecting their own member to serve on that body rather than absorbing my existing appointed member and adding to that number. As I’ve said publicly, I don’t wish for there to be mayor appointments to this council’s created advisory group. I haven’t seen the collaboration I’d hope for this, and as a result, I felt that vetoing this (ordinance) was warranted.”
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Heated discussion and public tug-of-war between Costas and city council members about the purpose, mission and a future vision and altered definition of the Advisory Human Relations Council have continued consistently during the past six months.
At the March 10 council meeting, Alison Quackenbush, a middle school civics teacher who serves as the chair of the existing Advisory Human Relations Council as appointed by Costas, was questioned pointedly by Hunt and Kapitan about the lack of programming and events hosted by the advisory council, including in February for Black History Month.
In addition to Quackenbush, other members of the advisory council are Elisabeth Cohon, Debi Sibray, Mark Fesenmyer, Patrick Lyp, Carolyn Rodea, David Muniz, Mike Hendren and Jack Tipold, in addition to non-voting members Katie Shideler, Olivia Krutz and Valparaiso Police Chief Andrew McIntyre.
While Costas has said he created the idea for an advisory council “more than a dozen years ago,” Cotton has publicly corrected him, maintaining “it was the Valparaiso City Council who created this council, not the mayor.”
Costas said in June that he formed the advisory council to ensure the city’s mayor receives “a broad range of independent advice and perspective on matters related to the city’s growing minority populations.”
He disagreed with reconstituting the advisory council so it was appointed by the city council, with the goal of organizing, promoting and funding cultural events in the city, because the advisory council has been effective as it is for more than 14 years.
Costas also said at the time that he was concerned “that city resources and tax funds should not be used to promote cultural/social events organized by groups or private citizens.”
The city’s residents, he said, celebrate different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles.
“I believe that my job as mayor is not to elevate one over the other, but rather to ensure that all citizens feel respected, protected and free to express their own cultural views and beliefs as they see fit.”
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.