Mayor Mwilambwe chooses local capitalist De Urban to replace democratic-socialist Jenn Carrillo as Alderperson of Ward 6.
Unlike the last replacement for a vacant council seat who was voted on the council unanimously,1 De Urban faced a 4-4 vote to approve her nomination. Mayor Mwilambwe broke the tie voting in favor of her appointment to the seat.
Former-Alderperson Carrillo called in for public comment saying their replacement is the polar opposite of what the ward voted for in 2019.
“I’m calling as a Bloomington resident to express my tremendous disappointment in the handling of the process to fill the ward 6 vacancy. Every measure has been taken to exclude me from the process of selecting a successor to represent Ward 6. I have watched as his administration [Mayor Mwilambwe] has backed the council into a corner by running down the clock on this appointment.”
Former Ward 6 Alderperson Jenn Carrillo
Carrillo counted on their former colleagues to vote against De Urban.
A ward 6 resident, Jenee, had this to say:
“Either the mayor is trolling us with this pick, or, he doesn’t mind taking a great big dump on democracy and placing it right on the ward 6 seat. If you pick this person [De Urban] then the council will be illegitimate to a lot of people. In the words of my favorite comedian, George Carlin, they [the council] don’t give a fuck about you.”
Leah Pinson expressed her disappointment at the Mayor’s lack of decision-making skills.
“Mboka, one of the reasons people didn’t want to see you as Mayor is your neutrality and consistent lack of decision making and leadership skills as a council member. This scenario is only proving that to be true. You left ward 6 without representation for almost 60 days now, because of your inability to make a decision.”
De Urban responded to many of the comments with the following:
“Jenn Carrillo has big shoes to fill. I would say we are all hardpressed to find someone to fill the shoes of Jenn Carrillo. These people who say they want Jenn Carrillo respresented, my job is to do what they say. Whether these people like me or not is irrelevant; I like them because they live in my ward. Jenn Carrillo, if you’re listening, I appreciate the fact that she stood up for our people for the two years she did.
Ward 6 Alderperson De Urban
Carrillo was the only renter on the Bloomington City Council and represented Ward 6 which includes the West Side and half of downtown. Carrillo’s landlord sold the house they were a tenant of, despite their desires to continue living there. This forced Carrillo to move, and, according to them, they were unable to find housing that was within the 6th ward. According to City rules, a city council member must relinquish their seat if they begin living in another ward, even though they were elected during a time when they did live in the ward.
The city rule that forced Carrillo to resign is classist and disadvantages tenants. Wealthy city council members who own their homes (i.e., usually everyone on the council), don’t face the precarious nature of tenant living. People who own their houses typically only move when they want to. Renters, on the other hand, are dependent on the whims of the landlord class and are frequently forced to move when they don’t wish too.
Tomorrow, Alderperson Urban will sit at her second council meeting. The agenda includes: approving the police union contract and funding for a new library expansion. You can get detailed information on the agenda at BloNotes.
This article was originally published on Strangecornersofthought.com.
