Naperville Councilwoman Becky Anderson; Conflict-of-Interest Diva

One of the best decisions Naperville councilwoman Becky Anderson made for the residents of Naperville was her decision to not run for re-election. It’s not easy winning an election with a double-digit vote total. Anderson has not been a magnet for voter support. Her likeability quotient measures in the negative.

Whereas some council members, including Judy Brodhead, are harmless, more like an empty seat, others including Anderson cause problems. When Brodhead leaves the council, it will be as if she was never there. However when Anderson departs, it will immediately increase the average IQ of the entire council. Anderson’s mode of operating on the council has been defined as underhanded and not in a subtle way. If you look in the dictionary for the definition of ‘conflict-of-interest’ there is a good chance of seeing a picture of councilwoman Becky Anderson.

As an example, during the March 19th Naperville city council meeting, rather than expressing her opinion of Mayor Steve Chirico’s possible (but untrue) conflict-of-interest regarding the Central Park Place development on Washington Street, she waited until Chirico recused himself from that portion of the meeting before leveling the accusation.

Watch and listed as Mayor Chirico recuses himself, followed by Anderson’s cheap shot:

Anderson’s specialty on the city council is her propensity of exercising her lack of judgement on her own conflicts-of-interest.

Watch and listen as councilman Kevin Coyne chimes in with just a few of Anderson’s conflicts-of-interest without mentioning Anderson’s name:

• Should a council-member vote on a petition which her family member presented.
• Should a council-member vote on public resources being used for an event outside of her business.
• Should a council-member vote on a special service area if she has a building in that area.

Coyne didn’t wait until Anderson wasn’t present. She was there in full living color slinking into her seat. Coyne didn’t throw the punch, until after Anderson threw her sucker-punch at Chirico.

Councilman Benny White then steps in with a common-sense thought of his own;

Anything could be considered a conflict-of-interest. However when it comes to Becky Anderson she specializes in a plethora of conflicts-of-interest including:

• Voting for library funding while owning a book store.
• Voting for downtown improvements when she owns a business in the downtown area.
• Voting for a Harry Potter event again while owning a book store.
• Improper use of quasi governmental bodies such as NCTV and Naper Settlement for financial benefit.

Becky Anderson has never been accused of being a class act. During the April 3rd city council meeting watch and listen as councilman Paul Hinterlong congratulates Mayor Steve Chirico on his re-election victory. Every council member joins in by clapping, except for Anderson seated second from the left.

The bottom line is that the Tuesday April 16 city council meeting will be councilwoman Becky Anderson’s last meeting. The really good news is that it will allow Anderson more time do some industrial-strength dusting and vacuuming in her book store, which is sorely needed.