The Board of Alders opted for continuity over shaking up the status quo in setting committee assignments for the term that began Jan. 1.
In all but three of the committees — finance, public safety and youth services — the chairperson stayed the same. The Finance Committee, which will have the job of sorting out the forthcoming proposed new city budget, seemed to have the most change with former vice-chair, Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton, stepping into the position of chair to replace former Hill Alder Andrea Brooks-Jackson, who decided not to run for reelection.
Westville Alder Adam Marchand will serve in the vice-chair position, while freshman Hill Alder David Reyes will occupy a position on the powerful committee as his uncle, Jorge Perez, did before him.
Much of the nitty-gritty law-drafting and debate takes place in committee at the board.
Bishop Woods Alder Gerald Antunes, is the only newly elected alder to receive a chairmanship. But it will likely be old hat for Antunes, who represented the Quinnipiac Meadows neighborhood as an alder for three terms prior to stepping down in 2011. The retired police captain will head up the Public Safety Committee, formerly chaired by Beaver Hills Alder Brian Wingate, who will now serve as vice-chair.
Three committees — aldermanic affairs, city services and environmental policy, and human services — still have one vacant position each pending the seating of Jackson-Brooks replacement.
The committee assignments are:
ALDERMANIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Rosa Santana (Chair), Alfreda Edwards (Vice-Chair), Dolores Colon, Evette Hamilton, José Crespo, Jill Marks, Vacant
CITY SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY COMMITTEE: Sal DeCola (Chair), Delphine Clyburn (Vice-Chair), Rosa Santana, Adam Marchand, Anna Festa, Alberta Witherspoon, Vacant
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: Frank Douglass (Chair), Dolores Colon (Vice-Chair), Barbara Constantinople, Delphine Clyburn, Brian Wingate, José Crespo, Jill Marks
EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Aaron Greenberg (Chair), Darryl Brackeen Jr. (Vice-Chair), Jessica Holmes, Brenda Foskey-Cyrus, Santiago Berrios-Bones, Anna Festa, Latrice James
FINANCE COMMITTEE: Evette Hamilton (Chair), Adam Marchand (Vice-Chair), Dolores Colon, Alphonse Paolillo, Ernie Santiago, Sal DeCola, Jeanette Morrison, Tyisha Walker, Anna Festa, Latrice James, David Reyes
HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: Richard Furlow (Chair), Santiago Berrios-Bones (Vice-Chair), Carlton Staggers, Darryl Brackeen Jr., Latrice James, Alberta Witherspoon, Vacant
LEGISLATION COMMITTEE: Jessica Holmes (Chair), Jeanette Morrison (Vice-Chair), Sarah Eidelson, Frank Douglass, Adam Marchand, Darryl Brackeen Jr., Richard Furlow
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: Gerald Antunes (Chair), Brian Wingate (Vice-Chair), Ernie Santiago, Barbara Constantinople, Brenda Foskey-Cyrus, Aaron Greenberg, David Reyes
TAX ABATEMENT COMMITTEE: Ernie Santiago (Chair), Brenda Foskey-Cyrus (Vice-Chair), Alfreda Edwards, Gerald Antunes, Frank Douglass, Sal DeCola, Richard Furlow
YOUTH SERVICES COMMITTEE: Brian Wingate (Chair), Sarah Eidelson (Vice-Chair), Rosa Santana, Tyisha Walker, Santiago Berrios-Bones, Carlton Staggers, José Crespo
1) Welcome back, Alderman Antunes.
2) Why does Brian Wingate get a Chair and Vice-Chair position when some alders don't have either? Doesn't seem fair.
3) Why are both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee representative of the West side of the City? Doesn't seem fair.
4) Darryl Brackeen Jr. gets Vice-Chair on the Education Committee even knowing who his employer is? I cannot recall where this was an issue in the past (nor can I think of when he might have to recuse himself from a vote) but seems strange. [To the Editor: Would it be possible to publish the employers of each of the Alders?]