I’m old enough to remember when Lisle Baker was a ward alderman and also president of the board. It infuriated me to no end that, on a board with two-thirds of the members elected city-wide, the most powerful position on the board was held by a guy elected by so few voters, relative to his peers. I frequently and publicly encouraged him to run city-wide and give greater legitimacy to his board leadership.

Fast forward a few years. Ward Alderman Bill Brandel heard the word and ran for an at-large seat to give him a greater claim for board leadership. He gave up his relatively safe seat to run city-wide and lost to then newcomer Deb Crossley and even then long-time incumbent Brian Yates. 

Fast forward a few more years. When an at-large seat opened up in Ward 1, Scott Lennon also heard the word. He won the special election and graduated from ward alderman to at-large alderman. When he became president of the board (now City Council), he had a claim of accountability that Lisle never had. As admirable as Scott’s move was, it was relatively low risk as he did not have to give up his ward seat to run in the special election.

Fast forward a few more years to yesterday and Allison Leary’s victory in the at-large race in Ward 1. She has no more voting power on the council, but she is now accountable to the entire city. And, she gave up her safe ward seat for a tough battle in the at-large race. Allison’s step up in accountability should be rewarded with a leadership role when the council reconvenes, under a new president, in January.

Maybe Allison should be the council president.