Divided Evanston City Council Approves City Manager Contract

EVANSTON, IL — The City Council voted Monday to make Erika Storlie Evanston's ninth city manager. Storlie, 43, spent most of her professional career working for the city, starting as web and communication coordinator in 2004. She got promoted to assistant to the city manager, then deputy city manager, and for 13 months since the resignation of former City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, she has served as interim city manager.

Six aldermen and the mayor provided the needed two-thirds vote to give Storlie the job permanently. After the 7-3 vote, Storlie said she was humbled and honored by the appointment, and ready to continue to sacrifice on behalf of the public.

"That's a commitment that I've given since the very first day I started here 16 years ago, and it's a commitment that I will never stop giving," Storlie said. "I look forward to continuing to implement the vision that the City Council has for Evanston. I share in the vision and I am committed to helping all of you realize what you want to achieve for our city."

Storlie said she was committed to city staff, past and present, whose hard work and ideas she credited with all the city's successes.

"I've been very fortunate to learn so much from them. I can't even express into words how much I've always learned from the people who have come before me and I've tried to understand where they're coming from, what they value and what their vision is for the city," she said. "I will continue to do that with our current staff, with the City Council and with all the residents, because as much as I've learned from the staff and from our City Council, I've also learned just as much from the residents who care deeply about our city and where it goes and how we move forward."

Mayor Steve Hagerty earlier this year sought to skip the executive search process that cost $35,000 and identified the three finalists who participated in a community forum and interview panels this month. He suggested he would not want to hire any municipal administrator who would be willing leave their post during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hagerty said he felt Storlie had proven herself during her time in government and met all the requirements of the job description, including her commitment to fighting climate change, adding affordable housing and promoting racial equity.

"Erika demands good government. She treats people with respect and fairness," Hagerty said. "She is just the type of person we should want in this 24/7 demanding job, a job where many difficult decisions need to be made that inevitably leave some disappointed and vocal. I am confident that Erika will lead with integrity and help us remain one of the best urban ring cities in America."

Ahead of the vote, five of the six aldermen who voted in favor of Storlie's contract offered up reasons for their vote. Only 4th Ward Ald. Don Wilson did not publicly comment on the reasons for his vote.

Ald. Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, the most experienced member of the City Council, noted that search firm GovHR was only able to find four candidates qualified enough to present to the council. She said Storlie has a firm grasp on the city's finances, is familiar with the way its various departments work and is sensitive to issues of racial equity.

"I have worked with five Evanston city managers and with three interim city managers who did not become city managers. I voted on four city managers prior to Erika," Rainey said. "And I will say that Erika is as qualified as any of those other city managers. Erika is more qualified than three of the other city managers. So that is why I voted for Erika."

"I did not vote for Erika, as many have accused us, because it was easier, because she lives here, because it was simpler, because we knew her. I voted for her because she was absolutely, in my mind, the very best candidate," Rainey said. "I'm going to stick up for you for as long as it's necessary and I'm sorry that you have suffered through some really unfortunate accusations."

Ald. Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, said she kept an open mind when considering finalists for the position, whom she said were each qualified. But Storlie, she said, had clearly proven her leadership abilities during an unprecedented time as interim city manager.

"There's no question that she has led us through the toughest problem any city manager will ever face in any of our lifetimes, and she has led us through it so well. I think we have almost lost sight of how well Erika has handled this, because we aren't living in other municipalities, we aren't living in other cities," Wynne said. "I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me and told me I feel so safe to be here in Evanston."

Wynne said Storlie immediately went into action to respond to the challenges presented by the coronavirus.

"Erika has been through a trial by fire. The fire is not over. I mean, we're still burning hot," Wynne said. "But what Erika has demonstrated in these past seven months is that she can lead this city like no one else."

Ald. Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, said Storlie was a "rock star" at her ward meetings, with residents inquiring about whether she would be hired on a permanent basis.

"I have never known anyone that has such a clear moral compass as Erika does and who is so grounded in the community, who understands the sensitivities in the community that sometimes surprise me," Fiske said. "It takes a long time to learn that, but Erika has been here for a long time and she is of this community."

Storlie has the full confidence of city staff, Fiske said, because they know she will be fair and honest.

"I am just amazed at how clearly she sees, not only the direction the community is going in, but how well she speaks for the little guy. And there are a lot of powerful interests in Evanston, and somehow or another … Erika can put them in perspective," Fiske said. "She intuitively gets the balance that is our community. That's an incredible thing, and something that you really can't teach. You've got to have that."

Ald. Peter Braithwaite, 2nd Ward, said there had been a lot of misinformation shared during the process. He did not indicate whether Storlie was his first choice.

"I'm proud to say, out of the 70, with the three that were selected, that I could very easily work with any one of those women candidates," Braithwaite said. "But tonight we will be voting on Erika and I'm going to support the contract."

Ald. Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, said there were two especially strong candidates that emerged who each had particular strengths and talents. She said she listened to community forums, read up on each candidate's background and perused their resumes.

"But those only give us, really, a partial picture of a candidate's qualifications and capabilities, but in the case of one candidate, Erika Storlie, we had the additional benefit of direct experience with her performance this past year," Revelle said.

Revelle praised Storlie's long-term financial planning and tough decisions early in the COVID-19 pandemic that reduced the city's budget deficit by about $8 million.

"We need the city to be in a solid financial position in order to make sustained progress toward racial equity, implementing our reparations program, and making meaningful progress toward our ambitious climate goals," she said. "An example, I think, of Erika's long-term thinking for our financial strength is her identifying the opportunities to right-size the number and kinds of city assets we have, and in particular making a wise decision about what to do about our civic center, because that does provide some really positive opportunities for us going forward."

Two of the aldermen who voted against extending a contract to Storlie, 9th Ward Ald. Cicely Fleming and 6th Ward Ald. Tom Suffredin, released statements ahead of the meeting laying out their position, while Ald. Robin Rue Simmons addressed her choice Monday.

"I advocated for a public vote on the candidate selection. I believe that Evanstonians should know how their elected official votes on every matter. To be clear, I was not suggesting a public discussion of the qualifications/criticisms of three professional women, rather simply a roll call vote to show the community who their elected representative chooses," Fleming said. "Aside from Alderman Suffredin, the rest of the council did not agree with me."

Suffredin said he had high expectations for Storlie, with whom he said he has a great personal relationship. But he criticized the process by which she was hired.

"Our task was to have a transparent public process and, in consultation with the people we were elected to represent, select the best candidate to implement policies to move Evanston forward," Suffredin said in a letter in the Evanston RoundTable. "I do not believe that we did that. Too much emphasis was placed on personal relationships with Erika and not enough on what residents need or the more substantial credentials of other candidates. That is not Ms. Storlie’s fault, and criticism she has faced for accepting a position that has been offered to her is misplaced."

"The integrity of this process was the responsibility of your elected representatives," Suffredin said. "We failed you."

Fleming said after the meeting in a message to her constituents that her top pick had been Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, city manager of Petersburg, Virginia, based on her experience. The other finalist was Marie Peoples, deputy county manager of Coconino County, Arizona. She said she spoke with Storlie and they had both committed to a professional working relationship with the sole goal of serving residents.

"She understands my high expectations of service delivery, staff accountability, and my commitment to racial equity," Fleming said.

"It is unfortunate that a desire for transparency and the prioritization of resident input has created rifts between myself and my colleagues," she added. "As a Black woman, this is unfortunately par for the course when you dare push against the status quo and challenge the dominant culture. I remain unshaken and will keep asking questions and pushing for better representation because that is what Evanstonians deserve and that is why you elected me."

The third “no” vote, Rue Simmons, said she would work to help Storlie succeed despite not having been her first choice.

"We had a process and based on the feedback that I received from the three panels, what I observed at the community presentations, the direct feedback from the residents of the 5th Ward, the expectations of our new city manager, and my experiences in my role, I had one candidate out of the three amazing and very qualified candidates that would have been my choice for city manager," Rue Simmons said. "And it was not Erika."

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During the public comment portion of the meeting, Storlie was endorsed by two former members of the City Council, as well as leaders of the nonprofit Friends of Robert Crown Community Center and the Evanston Lighthouse Dunes group.

"I know there's many of you who don't agree with what I'm saying, but that still does not make the process unfair," former 5th Ward Ald. Dolores Holmes said. "You all have an opportunity now to present to the City Council your solution for making it a different process. That's how government works. I wish we could learn to be more kind to each other and follow that process rather than falling into the name-calling and the bullying."

More than a dozen residents — including members of activist groups like the Citizens Network of Protection, Reclaim Evanston and Citizens Greener Evanston — questioned the hiring process and Storlie's record in the city manager's office.

Tina Foster said the other candidates appeared better qualified. She was one of several speakers to criticize Storlie's handling of the firing of Kevin Brown, the community service manager who led the city's Youth and Young Adult Division since its inception.

"Ms. Storlie, who is the protégé of the city manager, Wally Bobkiewicz, who was in his own right a controversial city manager," Foster said. "Hiring someone from the outside would have have put an end to this history and allowed a new city manager a clean slate."

The contract includes a base salary of $225,000, annual deferred compensation starting at $18,000 and a continuation of the existing vehicle stipend. It is indefinite unless otherwise terminated.

According to the contract, Storlie is due to receive a severance payment worth 20 weeks of compensation unless she is fired due to "the willful breach or habitual neglect" of her duties "or conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude."

Ahead of the meeting, Mental Health Board Chair Jessica Sales resigned in protest of the City Council's decision to pick Storlie. In an open letter to the mayor, the mental health professional said she had observed during her volunteering for the city board that the city manager position is granted too much unchecked power in Evanston, few elected officials or city staff have a true understanding or commitment to antiracist practices, and residents have lost trust in elected officials who do not appear to value transparency and accountability.

"The City’s most recent move to hire Erika Storlie as City Manager has confirmed for me that I can no longer in good conscience volunteer my time and professional knowledge to help support any future efforts of the City of Evanston. This hire goes against every espoused value of this alleged progressive City," Sales said. "I also will not be complicit in encouraging my Black or Brown neighbors and colleagues to consider volunteering on a City Board, Commission or Committee. I believe their labor and contributions will be in vain and may further add to experiences of marginalization and tokenization."

Hagerty acknowledged criticism over the hiring process. The closed-door discussion among aldermen to determine a consensus pick for the job took place Friday, about 48 hours after the public's first opportunity to hear from the three finalists.

"We wouldn't be Evanston without a controversy in this town," Hagerty said. "The reality is that our disagreements in town are not because we're a corrupt government or council, it's just because we honestly disagree."

The mayor said there was a discussion among the council of all three candidates during the Oct. 16 executive session, and a general consensus of a majority was to negotiate a contract with Storlie. No roll call vote was taken behind closed doors, he explained.

"Nonetheless, too often today, and this isn't just in Evanston," Hagerty said, "when someone is not on the prevailing side, they either claim that there was a conspiracy or a lack of transparency with a belief that more transparency would have resulted in the outcome that they preferred."