Joni Bradley-Scott and Ananda Billings 2019-07-15_IMG_1448_web
Local News

Bradley-Scott appointed, approved as Flossmoor trustee

The Flossmoor Village Board Monday approved the appointment of Village Clerk Joni Bradley-Scott to fill the trustee seat left vacant by Phil Minga’s resignation earlier this year.
 
The board also approved the appointment of Flossmoor resident Ananda Billings to serve the remainder of Bradley-Scott’s term as village clerk until 2021. 

The Flossmoor Village Board Monday approved the appointment of Village Clerk Joni Bradley-Scott to fill the trustee seat left vacant by Phil Minga’s resignation earlier this year.
 
  Joni Bradley-Scott, left, and
  Ananda Billings (right) were
  appointed as trustee and village
  clerk, respectively, on Monday.

  (Stephanie Markham/H-F 
  Chronicle)
 

The board also approved the appointment of Flossmoor resident Ananda Billings to serve the remainder of Bradley-Scott’s term as village clerk until 2021. 
 

Billings was one of 13 candidates who applied to fill the vacant trustee seat.
 
Mayor Paul Braun was responsible for making the appointments for both trustee and village clerk positions with board approval. 

Bradley-Scott has been village clerk for the past two years. As the appointed trustee, she will serve a two-year term until the next election in 2021.

Bradley-Scott said maintaining cohesiveness between the village and local school districts is one of her main goals as trustee.
 

“I think that although we are two separate entities, the public doesn’t see us that way,” she said. “When we think of Flossmoor, we think of the schools. I want to continue to bridge and build that relationship we’ve established.”
 
Some residents in the audience were critical of the process to appoint a new trustee.

Flossmoor resident James O’Keefe asked why Braun did not make the trustee appointment within 60 days of the vacancy, as is required by state statute. Minga moved out of state and announced his resignation in February.
 

Braun said the delay occurred because of the proximity of the board’s vacancy to this April’s consolidated election. Three trustee seats were at stake in the April election. Five candidates ran for those seats, including two write-ins.
 
“I made the decision, I took it upon myself saying I was not going to make an appointment in the face of an election, a contested election at that time,” Braun said.
 
Braun interviewed 12 of the 13 candidates who applied, as one dropped out due to illness, he said.

“Between the election and the time frame in terms of seeking applicants, the review of those applicants, the interview of all those people, that’s why we’re here tonight,” he said. “There’s been no objections; there’s been no legal challenges to that.”
 

Another resident in the audience asked about the level of consultation the village board had before approving Braun’s appointments.
 
Village Attorney Kathleen Field-Orr said the village board may or may not choose to have official discussion before voting on the mayoral appointment.
 
“The law says that the mayor makes the appointment with the advisement and consent of the village board,” she said. “There wasn’t any executive session; they didn’t choose to have one.” 
 
Trustee Brian Driscoll said that write-in candidate Michelle Nelson, who earned 903 votes in the April election and subsequently applied to fill Minga’s vacancy, should be recognized for her persistence.
 
“Michelle Nelson did something unprecedented and came from a dead write-in candidacy to obtain almost 1,000 votes, which I’m not sure I could do,” Driscoll said. “In this process I want to recognize that you did a fantastic job, and I would encourage you to run again in the near future.”
 
Nelson told the Chronicle that she will “definitely run again,” especially considering the need for someone with an engineering background on the board.
 
“There is a void that former trustee Minga, an engineer, created when he resigned,” Nelson said. 
 
She also said she wanted to express gratitude for the residents who attended Monday’s meeting to show their support of her candidacy and everyone who supported her along the way.
 
Bradley-Scott has worked as a real estate broker and volunteers with the Heather Hill School PTO. She has a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lewis University.
 
Billings has worked in business development and sales for 15 years and currently is the director of business development for Gray Matter Analytics, a company which specializes in financial management for health organizations.
 

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