Scott Beilfuss
At the regular May 1 meeting of Grand Junction City Council, Councilman Abe Herman was voted in as the new mayor of Grand Junction and Randall Reitz as Mayor Pro Tem for the next year by all attending city council members present except one, and that hold out was perhaps the more important story that Grand Junction citizens should know about.
The vote was 5-1, with current Mayor Anna Stout absent from the meeting.
The lone hold out vote was Councilman Scott Beilfuss.
Curious about the vote, I contacted Beilfuss to ask why he didn’t vote for Herman and Reitz along with the rest of Council.
“Cronyism is creeping into council,” Beilfuss explained, saying he voted against Herman and Reitz out of frustration because of what he reports is happening behind closed doors.
“Anna and Abe were a little cartel,” Beilfuss said. A lot of us felt like they overused their positions. They were also the Agenda Committee, so if they didn’t like you, you didn’t get your issue on the agenda.” As an example, Beilfuss pointed out how there is “zero affordable workplace housing going up.”
Abe Herman
Beilfuss said about a week and a half ago he met with Councilors Cody Kennedy and Randall Reitz, who told him that the decisions about City Council leadership had already been made for the next year and it was a “done deal.”
“My vote didn’t matter,” Beilfuss said, pointing out that the way these decisions are being made cuts out all the others on Council from the decision. Beilfuss said, “I grew up 90 miles from the Daly Machine in Chicago,” implying he is familiar with exclusionary politics.
Randall Reitz, Ph.D.
Beilfuss was referring to the 40-plus year domination of Chicago politics by Richard M. Daley and his father before him, Richard J. Daley, who together ruled that city’s politics almost like a monarchy through the use of political patronage and stifling of competition for elected office.
“People want to feel like their vote [for city council] mattered,” Beilfuss lamented, referring to what he sees as some city council members essentially cutting out the representation of the others on Council, and the way this behavior thwarts the will of the voters who elected them all to office.
In response to an email asking about the vote, Abe Herman replied he was unaware of why Beilfuss voted the way he did, and Randall Reitz said he wasn’t going to speak for his colleague.
Councilor Beilfuss is complaining of cronyism while admitting to violating Colorado’s Open Meetings Law.
“Beilfuss said about a week and a half ago he met with Councilors Cody Kennedy and Randall Reitz, who told him that the decisions about City Council leadership had already been made for the next year and it was a ‘done deal.”’
“All meetings of a quorum or three or more members of any local public body, whichever is fewer, at which any public business is discussed or at which any formal action may be taken are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times.” C.R.S. 24-6-402(2)(b).
The purpose of COML is to prevent cronyism. The discussion of council leadership is of public concern and three councilors discussing that outside of a public meeting should not happen. Cronyism will continue happen as long as such meetings continue to be held outside of the public view.
Scott grew up in Detroit which makes him some kind of expert on Chicago politics and the Dailey machine. I spent my first twenty years in the city of Chicago, so that gives me way more credibility, right?
It sounds to me like Scott is griping about his status on the council. He needs to learn the ropes, build relationships and know when to submit items to the agenda committee.
And quit whining. It’s unattractive.
“He needs to learn the ropes”? A rather interesting statement! Coupled with “know when to submit items”! Together, they appear to be ‘Telling Statements’…
I grew-up in Baltimore (MD). The second murder capitol of the US and right up there in
‘Corruption’! From the Mayor to the Governor it was ‘Cronyism’ at its worst!
The post that I’m reading suggest to me that, by Osmosis, you are still a Chicagoan with the ‘Machine’s’ mind-set!
My Political Science professor one said “Put two people in a room, you have politics”! “Put four people in a room, you have Cronyism”
At this juncture, it is my inclination to agree with Mr. Beilfuss’ observation’s!