Downers Grove council’s mayor pro tem vote not pro-Tully

The Downers Grove Village Council Tuesday rejected Mayor Bob Barnett’s nomination of Commissioner Martin Tully as mayor pro tem.

In a 4-3 vote, commissioners opposed Barnett’s choice of the Tully, who previously had served as both commissioner and mayor before returning in 2023 to once again serve as commissioner. Tully twice served as mayor pro tem during his first stint as a commissioner.

Commissioners Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt and Chris Gilmartin both read extensive statements opposing Tully’s appointment. They were joined by commissioners Rob Roe and Tammy Sarver in voting against the nomination.

Barnett, Tully and Commissioner Mike Davenport voted in support of the appointment.

Former Commissioner Greg Hose was mayor pro tem until he stepped away from the council due to term limitations.

Sadowski-Fugitt laid out several reasons why she opposed Tully as mayor pro tem.

“For many years, with the support of both the Mayor and Commissioner Tully [mayor pro tem or mayor for most of those] not raising taxes was politically advantageous and, as a result, from 2008 to 2021 we lost over 71 full-time employees,” Sadowski-Fugitt said.

“While I understand we were dealing with the fallout of a recession, it did not necessitate the loss of 71 full-time employees. The old guard also represents a time in which it was normalized to appoint friends or make gentlemen’s agreements. I decided to run for one of the 2019 council spots because of the Art Jaros appointment.”

Jaros was removed from the library board in 2017 after comments he reportedly made against homosexuality.

“There had been a lack of transparency around appointments, discussions behind the scenes around things like mayor pro tem, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, and I want to end that.”

Sadowski-Fugutt added that she disagreed with the way Barnett perceives the role of mayor pro tem.

“The mayor has suggested that the pro tem be someone that represents him and his views. I find this to be a completely inappropriate way of looking at the role. We are always told that we are one of seven, and our individual opinion is not representative of the whole. We are better when we have differing views coming together.”

She added that Tully’s inability to attend some council meetings makes him the wrong candidate for mayor pro tem.

“It has been challenging scheduling our ad hoc committee meetings. We were not able to hold last week’s meeting because both the mayor and Commissioner Tully were gone. There has been a noticeable issue with attendance.”

Finally, she said, she did not receive the opportunity to discuss the mayor pro tem appointment.

“Specifically, on this issue, I never received a phone call to discuss pro tem and only learned about the content of the resolution yesterday evening.”

“Despite my tenure, attendance record, work ethic and clear dedication to the Downers Grove residents, I have been told that it was guaranteed that this round’s pro tem would ‘not be a new council member and it would not be Leslie.’”

Sadowski-Fugitt is the council’s senior commissioner having served since 2019.

Tully’s lack of communication and inability to attend all council meetings are the primary reasons Gilmartin could not support him as mayor pro tem, he said.

“Commissioner Tully is one of several people on this council who are qualified for the position,” Gilmartin said. “But for me, this decision is about how the role functions in practice, what kind of leadership tone it sets and whether the person in the seat helps us move toward the kind of governance I think our community expects.

“I have to be honest. I have concerns about Commissioner Tully’s schedule. He seems to travel frequently, and that’s impacted his ability to consistently attend our meetings. It has, at times, delayed us getting to certain topics because there are issues that are best discussed when all council members are present. The mayor pro tem role requires someone who can be reliably present and accessible, especially when stepping in for the mayor. I’m not confident that’s realistic in this case."

Gilmartin also expressed concerns about his lack of communication with Tully.

“What’s also notable is that in the two years we’ve served together, Commissioner Tully has never once initiated any communication with me. He has not reached out to see what I think about a single issue before us or to discuss any matter related to the village. That absence of engagement is telling to me, especially when evaluating someone for a role that depends on communication and respect."

He also was displeased that he did not receive news of the nomination until the night before the council meeting.

“The way this nomination was handled also reinforces my decision not to support the nominee. The formal resolution naming Commissioner Tully wasn’t shared with the council until last night. And some of us, including me, didn’t see it until after hours or this morning.”

What’s more, Commissioner Tully did not reach out to me or, as far as I know, most of the other commissioners up here tonight to discuss the nomination or make his case. That kind of silence speaks volumes. But maybe what is most concerning is that we have two members of this council who didn’t even know who was being nominated until they read the resolution last night. There was no call from the mayor and no call from Commissioner Tully. That lack of communication doesn’t align with our ‘no surprises’ standard I have heard reiterated time and time again."

Tully was taken aback by the comments from his fellow commissioners.

“Wow. I’m kind of baffled because I disagree factually with a number of things said by Commissioner Sadowski-Fugitt. Frankly I couldn’t follow most of what you said. It’s just not accurate. And I’m deeply disappointed by a number of things you said, and not even the courtesy to talk to me about it ahead of time does not convey well,” Tully said.

“I also disagree with what you said Commissioner Gilmartin because you have portrayed upon me the job of mayor pro tem when I wasn’t mayor pro tem,” he said.

“I wasn’t the mayor pro tem. Greg Hose was the mayor pro tem, and yet you just said ‘you didn’t act like the mayor pro tem so I can’t support you as the mayor pro tem.’ That’s basically what you said.”

He added that councils typically support a mayor’s choice for mayor pro tem.

“It is simply unprecedented for a village council not to respect the mayor’s choice of mayor pro tem. Unprecedented,” Tully said.

“It also sets a very disappointing tone and tenor for the next two years of this council,” he said. “At the very outset, two members of this council have already dispensed with a working relationship based on collaboration, consensus and collegiality and instead opted for an adversarial working relationship. This does not bode well.”

Barnett said that remarks made opposed to Tully’s nomination caught him off guard.

Barnett said he did not anticipate the comments opposing Tully’s nomination.

“I was prepared for a lot things but not what came tonight,” Barnett said.

During a conversation about Tully’s appointment, Gilmartin told Barnett, “I’ll make sure you don’t have the support,” the mayor said.

Gilmartin also told Barnett that “he can’t help but to think that the appointment was an effort to support Tully’s potential run for mayor in 2027 and diminish Gilmartin’s presence on the dais,” the mayor said.

“The problem is when you’re new and you don’t have as much information as others, you can feel left out. And so it’s about feeling left out. It’s about feeling like I don’t know as much as everybody else and I’m upset by that. That’s what’s going on here. That’s all it is,” Barnett said.

Barnett also reiterated Tully’s experience, which includes two terms as mayor and two terms as a village commissioner. He’s also served as president of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, the District 3 municipal representative on the DuPage County Stormwater Management Committee and as a member of the DuPage County Health Department’s Mosquito Abatement Taskforce.