McWilliams Resigns, Appointee To Be Named

The City Council interviewed three nominees Monday to replace Councilwoman Annie McWilliams, who resigned Nov.1 after declining to seek re-election.

McWilliams held the citywide at-large seat, representing all four wards, and served twice as council president. She will be honored for her service at the Nov. 26 regular meeting.

As required, the Democratic City Committee offered three names to the governing body to fill the vacancy. The nominees are Hattie Williams, Dottie Gutenkauf and Charles Eke. One will be chosen on Nov. 26 and will be seated immediately to serve through Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, the Rev. Tracey Brown will be sworn in for the four-year term she won in the Nov. 6 general election (results to be certified on Nov. 26).

Each nominee had a brief interview Monday. All was cordial until Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said to Eke, "The last time you appeared before the council, you made a spectacle of yourself."

Eke lashed out against council members in February 2011 after being rejected in January 2011 for a commissioner's seat on the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority. Reading a prepared speech, he called some council members "unfit for public office" and accused them of holding a caucus before the meeting, something McWilliams as council president denied.

"You never made any apology for your outrageous behavior," Williams said Monday, asking Eke how he expected to work with the council.

Eke had no response, prompting Williams to say if he couldn't remember, it spoke to his being unqualified and unfit to serve.

Councilman William Reid suggested that Eke could be impartial and fair, but Williams said she wanted the minutes of the February 14, 2011 meeting retrieved.

After the Nov. 26 regular meeting, the selected appointee will only be able to take part in an agenda-fixing session on Dec. 3, a regular meeting on Dec. 10, an agenda-fixing session Dec. 17 for the January 2013 annual reorganization and any special meetings before the end of the year.

--Bernice