The mayor of Galesburg says removing Gerald Smith as city manager will do “irreparable short-term and long-term harm” to the city and its residents. An alderperson counters that the mayor needs to respect democracy and the outcome of elections.
On Friday, four Galesburg City Council members called a special meeting for tonight to discuss the “employment or possible removal” of Smith. In response, Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman issued a Sunday morning news release in which he berated the four council members for what he calls “a malicious act.”
Council members Heather Acerra, Wayne Dennis, Bradley Hix and Evan Miller called the special meeting, set for 5 p.m. Monday (today) in City Hall Council chambers.
“It’s time to look into his actions since he’s been here,” Hix said when reached Friday afternoon. “It’s just kind of a culmination of things.”
Smith replaced Todd Thompson as Galesburg Manager on Nov. 7, 2022. He is just the eighth person to hold the position (full-time) since Galesburg went to the city manager form of government in the mid 1950s. The previous were Ray Harbaugh, Tom Herring, Larry Asaro, Bob Knabel, Gary Goddard, Dane Bragg and Thompson. Asaro is believed to be the only person fired from the position.
Smith is the first African-American to serve as Galesburg City Manager.
Mayor: Council’s actions are premeditated
In his Sunday news release, Schwartzman said, “I find the potential actions to fire the City Manager and change our Legal Counsel unjustified, uninformed, vindictive, callous, and reckless. In addition to these actions, these Councilors have put on additional agenda items (for the regular Council meeting on Monday) that will greatly infringe on our residents’ 1st Amendment Rights by limiting public comments to two minutes (they are currently five minutes) and moving all public comments to the beginning of the meeting (and requiring speakers to sign in and state their topic).
“All of these actions, especially given they are coming so early in a new Council’s term, are likely premeditated and, therefore, warrant extensive scrutiny.
“I am making this statement because I find the actions of these Councilors to be a malicious act and one that will do irreparable short-term and long-term harm to our City and its residents.”
The mayor closed by urging residents to attend tonight’s meeting.
“I personally invite you to Galesburg so that you can witness these developments in person,” Schwartzman said in his Sunday news release. “I think it is important for residents all over the state/country to know how power is being usurped and constitutional rights violated in downstate IL.”
The mayor said he was concerned a new City Council which consists of three new members (Acerra, Miller and Steve Cheesman) will vote to remove the City Manager and request to change our city’s current legal counsel.
Alderman: Mayor is ‘race-baiting’
Acerra, Ward 5, issued a statement hours before the meeting, saying the mayor needs to respect democracy and the outcome of elections.
“The will of the people is paramount and they elected us to do what we believe is right and make changes,” she said.
Acerra further says the council is not obligated to notify the mayor of their intentions to hold a special meeting.
“We were not inclined to do so after recent events,” she said. “Alderperson Hix met and I met with the City Manager to discuss items we would like researched/developed/investigated for City Council consideration.
“These items were placed on the agenda immediately without the benefit of a work discussion, and crafted in a politically negative way. Those items include developing enhanced guidelines on public participation at meetings and guidelines around the use of city-owned property.”
Addressing Schwartzman’s accusation of the Council “usurping power,” Acerra said, “That is ludicrous. We are duly elected by the voters and we have an obligation to do what we believe is best for the people of Galesburg.
“Three out of four city council districts defeated incumbents. That is a mandate for change.”
Acerra says the mayor and the city manager have been acting in a “shamefully partisan political way.”
“They were caught using official city resources for partisan politics,” Acerra said. “They have a partisan agenda and the Council is not bound by it. Mayor Schwartzman needs to stop race-baiting and recognize that his actions in appealing to a highly vocal mob from all over the state to attend meetings cannot overturn the results of an election by the people of Galesburg.”
Meeting will have added security, limited capacity
City Clerk Kelli Bennewitz said there will be added security on hand for tonight’s meetings. Also, the occupancy loads for the City are as follows:
Chambers – Max occupant load of 102
Rotunda – Max occupant load standing space of 56
Erickson Conference Room – Max occupant load of 28
The special meeting will need to be concluded by 5:30 p.m., which is when the regular City Council Meeting is advertised and scheduled to start. That meeting can be 4 hours with, one 15-minute extension.
