Via http://www.ucimc.org/node/3112, Danielle Chynoweth is apparently stepping down from City Council.
Dear Mayor Prussing and Urbana City Council Members,
Please accept this letter announcing my resignation from Urbana City Council.
After much consideration and attempts to schedule my professional life around council commitments, I have concluded that, with greatly increased travel and professional commitments, I will not be in a position to adequately serve Ward 2 residents.
Through my business, OJC Technologies, I have taken on the role of Development Director for Patch Adams. This new role will require me to travel extensively in the next year as we gather support to build a Health Care Teaching Center and Free Clinic in West Virginia. This is just one part of the growth in business we are experiencing at OJC. Other new contracts will be taking me out of the country as well.
These changes involve exciting professional opportunities as well as benefits for downtown Urbana. OJC Technologies, a company of 18 staff members (and growing), will be expanding into an office space in the former Busey Hall/Princess Theater on Main Street. This will allow OJC to grow, and for the Independent Media Center, which housed OJC for the past three years, to provide expanded services for artists and non-profits in the downtown post office building it owns.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all and am proud of what we have accomplished together:
• Urbana’s new Public Arts Program, along with the gallery incentive program, will support and grow the arts and culture throughout Urbana.
• A Citizen Review Board of Police now provides independent review of citizen complaints.
• Business on Philo Road is expanding and beautification efforts are underway.
• Our new Rental Registration program protects tenant safety and levels the playing field for landlords.
• City Hall is more diverse in terms of gender and race than it has ever been in history.
• The firefighters have a contract that respects their contribution to this community.
• Urbana is installing bike lanes and paths throughout the city.
• The City of Urbana has sponsored two affordable homes that use passive solar to reduce energy costs by up to 75% and will soon be home to an entire affordable green neighborhood that will set a new standard for energy efficiency.
• Urbana Public Television has grown to hundreds of members and efforts are underway to establish a stand-alone public access television station where non-profits, churches, and residents can have a local voice.
• We have exciting plans for Boneyard Creek developments including a park and performance space by the creek that will greatly enhance downtown Urbana.
I am also proud of accomplishments with the previous council. We expanded the library, passed a living wage ordinance, passed an anti-war resolution which we hand delivered to Congress, and acknowledged the relationships of gay, lesbian, and non-married straight couples with our Domestic Partner Registry. And we consistently supported the growth and proliferation of local businesses that keep our tax dollars local.Of the all changes, the one I am most proud of is the blossoming of citizen participation in government. Many council meetings are well attended because citizens see that their input has impact.
I am honored and blessed to have been able to serve Urbana for the past seven years. I thank everyone who has challenged me and supported me through these years. Although I am stepping down, I have every intention to stay in the community and continue to work to improve it, whether that be through holding a future elected position or in another role in our community. I wish you all the very best.
Sincerely,
Danielle Chynoweth
412 W. Illinois St.
Lovely Urbana, Illinois
Update: The News-Gazette has a story at http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008/07/15/chynoweth_resigns_from_urbana_city_council
Congratulations to her, and best of luck.
good riddance
One thing Chynoweth brought to every council meeting was her thorough reading of every city ordinance up for a vote- no matter how mundane. It was amazing how well prepared she came to every city council meeting. You may not have always liked her positions but she did do the work. Well, the News-Gazette's John Foreman won't have the Patt 4 to kick around anymore. All four of those pesky progressives are finally off the council. It's been quite a culture shock to have those four women (Patt, Wyman, Huth, and Chynoweth) undo the Good 'ol Boy Network of Bruce Walden and Tod Saittherwaite. Robert Dunn for City Council!
One thing Chynoweth brought to every council meeting was her thorough reading of every city ordinance up for a vote- no matter how mundane. It was amazing how well prepared she came to every city council meeting. You may not have always liked her positions but she did do the work.
Danielle has always struck me as a hard worker. She seems to be involved in a lot of things, so it probably made sense to cut back.
I'm gonna miss her. She represented her constituents very well.
ANY idea who might be applying to fill the position? Dunn is welcome to apply, of course, but he doesn't really seem like the ideal representative of the Professor's ghetto. What are the boundaries of that district anyway?
Congratulations on her new role with Patch Adams! I had the opportunity to meet him when I worked at the County Nursing Home. He came to visit and cheer the residents. He is truly a compassionate and caring individual. Good luck to Danielle, and continued success with the new projects!
Danielle lives at 412 W Illinois. From the map it looks like her Ward is roughly Illinois to University, Goodwin to Race, with exceptions.
They each get some dorms so as to guarantee control of the elections of council by college students passing through town. Her dorms are Townsend and Wardell (ISR) and Henrick House.
Here is the ward map:
Chynoweth represents/represented Ward 2, which is the small greenish blog in the middle-left.
She's a very hard worker and she did a great job.
I think she deserves particular credit for one very, very difficult vote, which was allowing the WalMart to be built. She got hammered hard on that one, since WalMart pretty much represents the essence of capitalism's darker side -- including its tendency to engulf and devour local businesses and funnel obscene amounts of cash from the hands of the many to the pockets of the few -- but she felt that the tax benefits for the city outweighed the dangers. She once told me that was the toughest vote she'd ever made.
As for her successor, if it works the way it did under Tod Satterthwaite, those interested in the nomination will put their name in the ring, the mayor will pick one to nominate, and the council will vote to accept.
I'd be very surprised if they didn't already have someone on deck, and we'll learn whom soon enough.
They each get some dorms so as to guarantee control of the elections of council by college students passing through town.
My understanding is that, if you look at the precinct breakdowns, voting in the dorms has a microscopic turn-out for obvious (or oblivious) reasons. As a rule, students don't vote in local elections. I don't think three dorms can provide much in the way of an electoral lock, especially in an an area that's already -- as someone above put it -- a professorial ghetto and a heavy Democratic lock anyway.
If all the student dorms were included in a single ward, then maybe they would be a lock for that ward, but it looks to me like the dorms are actually smeared across four separate wards.
Actually, i can not run in Ward 2 since I live in Ward 7. Does anybody have any idea who would be an ideal replacement for her? I am planning on running but for something larger than city council. Everyone will have to just wait and see what that will be! No, I realize that I would not stand a chance in the "Peoples Republic of Urbana" otherwise known as County Board District 8.
That ward is pretty well the student ward. Heck, just say that you would buy them beer and get them to vote for you in Ward 2!
I think she deserves particular credit for one very, very difficult vote, which was allowing the WalMart to be built. She got hammered hard on that one, since WalMart pretty much represents the essence of capitalism's darker side -- including its tendency to engulf and devour local businesses and funnel obscene amounts of cash from the hands of the many to the pockets of the few -- but she felt that the tax benefits for the city outweighed the dangers. She once told me that was the toughest vote she'd ever made.
"allowing Wal-Mart to be built" ...."outweighed dangers???"
You've got to be Kidding me.
The idea that the city council ought to be questioning or approving/disapproving of any legitimate business coming to town, at all, is to me totally repugnant.
...essence of capitalism's darker side???????????????
Shame on us for not wanting to pay parking meters and if we are unlucky, parking tickets, for doing business in dying downtowns.
Shame on us for wanting to shop after 5 pm. Shame on me for hating fascist socialism.
Patch Adams, while a compassionate person for children apparently, is a complete nut-case politically. I met him at Willard recently and after asking how he was, he spit forth some vitriol about "who can be fine with Bush in the White House raping the world of blah blah blah."... Not the sort of guy I'd want my 8 year old around.
rondipass
It is easy to see how Danielle can feel so blessed and honored by all she got from Urbana. But she is wrong, it is the other way, as her letter shows, Urbana is blessed and honored by her.
Whether you agreed with her on the issues or not (I usually did), I hope we can all agree that our representative democracy is better off when people like Danielle serve. She was a driven, energetic, and responsive alderperson. In fact, it looks like her resignation is another good example of her dedication. As soon as she foresaw any inability to continue serving her constituents to the fullest, she resigned so that someone else could. This is in contrast to many in elected office who see it as a celebrity opportunity, don't do much work, and/or are apt to hang on well beyond the time their interest in serving had waned. Whomever gets the appointment in Ward 2 will have large shoes to fill.
Good luck to Danielle and I hope she enjoys her new endeavors.
Actually I liked Danielle on the board as have pretty good sense, although she is far far left of me on social issues.
Though I live in the other city, kudos to any public servant who is always prepared for any meeting, whether we agree on the issues or not. This is such a rarity that "praise" is the operative word.
Pattsi Petrie
There are not a whole lot of students who vote in Ward 2, though they are certainly eligible to do so. I remember when Danielle was running for office, she mentioned that it is actually hard to get turnout from the dorms (for ANY issue).
At one point I rented an apartment that put me in a district to vote inside Beckman, and when I went to vote at 3PM, I was the tenth voter of the day and all of the election judges clapped for me. It was rather depressing.
"...and when I went to vote at 3PM, I was the tenth voter of the day and all of the election judges clapped for me. It was rather depressing."
Wow. That is depressing.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
I always heard she won her seat on the council by getting some ridiculously low total, like 50 votes or something. Is there any truth to that?
Danielle was elected to her first term in a hotly contested primary in Ward 4. I don't know how many votes it was, but I'm sure it was hundreds at least. I don't recall if she had an opponent in the general that year.
From N-G February 28, 2001
URBANA - Residents in Ward 4 will have a new Urbana City Council representative come April 3.
An aggressive campaign helped 28-year-old Danielle Chynoweth beat incumbent Carolyn Kearns by 90 votes in the Democratic primary.
"I think a mistake was made and that has been corrected now," Chynoweth said. "That mistake was too much of a connection with the mayor and incumbent."
The voters - 61 percent of them - decided to have an independent, progressive voice, she said.
So a little algebra suggests about 410 votes were cast.
I wrote a letter to the editor supporting Chynoweth--actually it was more of an anti-Kearns letter-- after I saw a tape of Kearns at public meeting totally unprepared.
Michael Fuerst
"I think a mistake was made and that has been corrected now," Chynoweth said.
Ouch. That has to be at or near the top of anyone's list of least gracious victory speeches. I remember cringing when I read it the morning after the election.
On the other hand, I think we've all grown a fair amount in the last seven years, and I would hope that Danielle's tenure would be remembered mainly for its many positive accomplishments.
Can we quit with all the glad handing. The woman was a train wreck and she won't be missed.
Of course she will be missed, by many people I personally know, and including myself.
Whatever the "grand verdict" may be, she was elected and supported for valid logical reasons, she supports platforms people want. They might not be what YOU want, but that's hardly the same thing as "she will not be missed."
Do you live in the ward and were outvoted? Or perhaps live in another ward entirely?
FWIW I do not live in Ward 2 (or Ward 4, for that matter).