By:Andrew Coen
Levenbrown said he has made no decision yet about whether he will oppose Felder and buck the Nominations Committee by seeking re-election in June. Slates that are put up by the civic association-s Nominations Committee are not usually challenged. Last year Joel Mael bucked tradition and successfully ran for village trustee, despite failing to get the committee-s blessings.
We are getting credible information that the village will lose some of its key people if Mayor Levenbrown is re-elected, said Nominations Committee Chairman Shlomo Huttler. There is a big threat, and from what we hear, there is discontent in the ranks.
Levenbrown reacted angrily to reports that village workers will leave if he is re-elected. It is total nonsense and smear tactics, which has no place in any election and certainly not in a community such as ours, he said.
According to Huttler and Felder, one of those who would retire if Levenbrown is re-elected is Village Administrator Peter Overs, who will have served 35 years in the village as of July 1, making him eligible for retirement. However, Overs said that whoever is mayor on July 1 won-t affect his decision about whether to retire.
At that time, should the mayor wish to re-appoint me and the Board of Trustees choose to confirm that appointment, I will assess and evaluate my past, current and future goals and make my decision accordingly, said Overs in a faxed statement.
In a phone interview, Overs said, I have nothing to do with this election. I-m a professional and I serve at the pleasure of the mayor and the board, and whoever is voted into office is voted into office. [Village] employees want nothing to do with this election either, and no employee has expressed any of those comments that were made by the Nominating Committee.
Felder names supporters
Felder, however, named a diverse group of people who support his mayoral candidacy, including Overs, the other three village trustees Martin Oliner, Margaret Carpenter and Joel Mael former Village Trustee Howard Siskind, former Deputy Village Administrator Michael Perone, former Lawrence Mayor Larry Blatte and Lloyd Keilson, who serves on the Lawrence Village Board of Zoning Appeals.
A number of people have encouraged me and literally asked me to step in and run for this position, said Felder.
Overs reiterated that he is not endorsing anybody and does not want to get involved with the election.
Huttler said the decision to endorse Felder over Levenbrown has nothing to do with their ideologies or meeting the demands of the growing Orthodox Jewish population in the village. This whole development is not a function of changing demographics or new versus old opposition in the community, said Huttler. The greatest and most informed opposition to Jack came internally, from people running the village and who have in the past run the village.
Felder is an Orthodox Jew, and Levenbrown considers himself centrist Modern Orthodox. Levenbrown, who does not wear a yarmulke at work or in government business, does not think religious affiliation should play any role in village elections. I have no idea if it-s true, but if so, it has no place in any election, he said in response to claims that some want him out because he-s not Orthodox enough.
Levenbrown gets
high marks anyway
Despite the decision not to endorse Mayor Levenbrown, Huttler, Felder and Lawrence Association President Rabbi Rafael Saffra said positive things about the work he has done for the village.
From my perspective, our village community should be very grateful to him for his very diligent efforts on our behalf all of these past years, and for the substance of what he accomplished during that period, said Huttler. It would be a mean-spirited individual who fails to express that gratitude or who questions his accomplishments. It-s a painful step, but it-s not a hard one, unfortunately.
I think that [Levenbrown] is a man that has given so much of himself to the village, but I am firm believer in the process we have, said Felder. In no way do I want to dismiss the dedication that Jack has brought. This is not a personal thing at all.
Saffra added, Jack is a wonderful person, but I support my committee and their decision. The Nominations Committee has spoken.
Two years ago, the association endorsed Felder, but he backed out at the 11th hour, giving Levenbrown a chance to be mayor. Felder has said that he did not want that election to divide the community, and instead wanted to promote harmony. Felder said he is hopeful that this year a divisive election can be avoided once again. We hope that this election will avoid a situation that nobody wants, he said.
A Lawrence resident, who wished to remain anonymous, accused Saffra of spending the past year appointing many people to the Nominations Committee, while at the same time asking them to oust Levenbrown.
Saffra denied the claims. I don-t play golf, I don-t play tennis, I don-t own a boat, I-m not trying to expand my house with a variance and neither I nor any family member does any business in the village, so I have no personal agenda, said Saffra. What I am guilty of is bringing new blood into the association by bringing in people who are willing to serve and willing to work. [The Nominations Committee] talked to more people than any other Nominations Committee in the history of the association and really did their homework, so it was a totally fair process.
A portion of the association-s Nominations Committee Summary Report, recently sent out in a newsletter to members, reads, The Nominations Committee acknowledges that its endorsement of a challenger to the incumbent Mayor of Lawrence is perhaps unprecedented. However, the committee has taken the position only after unusually detailed and time-consuming due diligence that is itself of an unprecedented nature. These efforts included the solicitation of information from the Mayor-s peers in Village Government, his predecessors, and current and retired members of the administration of the Village.
A major wrinkle in the association-s decision to endorse Felder for mayor is that if he is elected, his trustee spot would become vacant and he would have the opportunity to appoint his replacement without an election. I haven-t really given deep thought to it, said Felder. There are so many good, qualified people in this village that it should not be a problem.
Levenbrown said the village is in solid shape now, and there-s no reason for a change. The village is running extremely well, services are being provided, I initiated many cost-saving measures, crime is down and all the things that we-ve set out to do are being done, he said.
The primary goal is to bring unity to our community, with the administration continuing to provide all the best services, said Felder.
Full agenda
The March 17 Lawrence Association meeting will be an active one. In addition to picking the slate of candidates to endorse for village government, association members will vote on changing the association-s constitution so they would be allowed to interview and endorse District 15 school board candidates in May-s elections. Other changes to the constitution would include establishing the Library Committee, which has been pressing hard recently for an expanded driveway to the Peninsula Public Library, as a permanent committee and raising the annual dues from $20 to $25, which, according to Saffra, could help cover a $6,000 deficit that he inherited as president. The last time the association-s constitution was amended was in 1976.
The group will also appoint a new Nominations Committee for 2005.
The March 17 meeting is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Lawrence Village Country Club.
