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Rail
safety advocate gets nod in Villa Park
A railroad safety advocate has been appointed to the
Villa Park village board. Board members voted 4-1 to appoint John Davis to serve as
a trustee through May 2007, filling out the term for a previously open seat. Trustee Thomas Cullerton, who voted against the Davis
nomination, said he wasn’t taking a position against Davis, but rather the
timing of an appointment roughly four months before an election. In September 2004 as a trustee, Village President Joyce
Stupegia voted against a measure by a former village president to appoint
former Trustee Joshua Bruschuk to the board, Cullerton said, “because it was
six months before an election and it was too close to do that.” Cullerton asked why it was OK for Stupegia to so now. Stupegia said the work by Davis to promote railroad
safety and advocate for fencing along rails made Davis “an excellent
candidate.” Given his work on that safety committee, headed by
Stupegia, she said, “Not only am I backing him here, I am willing to back him
fully to fill a vacancy in his run for trustee.” Davis said Monday night that he will seek election to a
2-year term on the board. Stupegia said since that 2004 vote, she sees the issue of
appointments near an election differently. “I didn’t know it was a crime to change one’s mind,”
Stupegia said. While Monday night’s vote was not unanimous, trustees said
they were united in their opinions that Davis was up to the challenge of his
new job. As a new trustee, Davis, 31, said he would concentrate on
making railroad safety and measures to promote economic development in the
village his priority of the next several months. Coming onto a board that often has been divided over most
issues and locked into heated debates, Davis said, “I’m hoping as a new
person, I might be a new light with new ideas.” |