WEB EXTRA! Updated Monday at 1:23 p.m.
In a furious e-mail last Wednesday, Oak Park Trustee Robert Milstein vilified President David Pope for endorsing the four candidates for the board on the Citizens for Progressive Action slate.
That slate was selected by the longstanding Village Manager Association.
Milstein called Pope a “shill for the VMA,” and said that “for [Pope] to enter the contest at the last minute … when we cannot retort … is as despicable as one can get.”
Milstein is running for re-election on the Vision Community Action slate, with Jim Balanoff, Gary Schwab and two-year-seat candidate Annabel Abraham.
Pope said Friday, “I have no animus toward Bob,” but said he endorsed the four CPA candidates–incumbent Ray Johnson, Jon Hale, Jan Pate and two-year-seat candidate John Hedges–because he felt they possess the best skills, “but also because of their willingness to work at the policy level, which is critically important.”
Pope’s endorsement appeared as a letter to the editor in last week’s Wednesday Journal Viewpoints section, the last issue before the April 17 election.
Pope said he based his endorsement on observations of the campaign and on “real opportunities at the board table to see how, unfortunately, politics has entered into the discussion of important policy issues in ways that I don’t think are healthy.” He said when the race began, he did not plan to endorse candidates because he didn’t want his opinions to be the focal point of debates at the board table when it had more pressing matters to address.
“I stand by everything stated in my e-mail to President Pope,” Milstein said in an e-mail to Wednesday Journal on Saturday. “Mr. Pope has overstepped his role. This endorsement removes his independent self-appointed label and clearly indicates his partisan position. Moreover, the donations by developers that have millions of dollars of potential future projects in Oak Park have donated to the VMA. Mr. Pope must think that the money is OK but this is a potential for conflict of interest.”
In his e-mail to Pope, Milstein vowed the board’s meeting Monday will be a “partisan evening,” and suggested long discussions on the items scheduled for the agenda, including finalizing contracts for work on the Marion Street mall, signing an agreement with Elementary School District 97 for a purchase/leaseback deal on the district’s 970 Madison St. headquarters, and amending an agreement with the Animal Care League to assume responsibility for strays.
“Allow seven hours for the meeting … and that may be short,” Milstein wrote.
“We will work through the agenda items as we always do,” Pope said. “I certainly hope it doesn’t turn into a circus.”