Although subtle, there’s yet another indication this mayor of Aurora is forging a different path than the last administration: no grand hoopla over his first 100 days in office.
In fact, had The Beacon News not asked about writing a story for this traditional political report card, there’s a good chance John Laesch would not have acknowledged it at all.
Contrast that to his predecessor who held a rousing “100 Days in Office” pep rally at Aurora University, where Mayor Richard Irvin commanded the Crimi Auditorium stage with his signature charisma and uplifting vision for Aurora’s future. After boldly announcing a slew of new projects and initiatives, he declared “this was just the beginning.”
However, following eight years of equally motivational state-of-the-city addresses, unprecedented ribbon-cuttings and a downtown that indeed was enjoying a slew of new restaurants and businesses, the chickens have come home to roost, says the new mayor. Which means there’s not a whole lot to cheer about as Laesch says the city faces an unprecedented $30 million budget shortfall.
And Laesch says he’s determined to stop the bleeding, even if it makes him the most unpopular person in the city.
None of which puts the mayor in a party mood, and in fact I get the impression he’s just glad to have made it through these first three months with no physical complaints other than a few extra pounds around the middle.
“I thought campaigning was hard,” said the former mayor’s nemesis on the City Council, referring to a tough and often nasty battle against Irvin in the April election. “But this is harder …”
Of course. That’s because his first 100 days in office consisted of negative headlines, most especially those about a proposal to pull back on discussed financial support for the Aurora Civic Center Authority. That led to the group’s decision to cancel the critically-acclaimed BOLD Series at the Copley Theatre and a backlash from many Aurora residents and other theater fans who rightly insist the Paramount is the rock star of downtown’s economic revival.
But Laesch views much of that progress as a house of cards, with too many new businesses opening up that had no good plans for sustainability.
“If you look at Invest Aurora loans, which are outside the purview of City Council, close to half are in default,” he told me in a sit-down interview last week. “How do you turn that around?”
Unlike his predecessor who became, along with his team, Aurora’s biggest cheerleaders, Laesch takes pride in “telling it like it is.” And what he’s been telling since day one of his administration is that the city is in a financial crisis, which has only grown deeper as he and his own team delved deeper into the books.
The numbers are the numbers, he’s repeated in so many words throughout his first few months in office as he continually warned that tough times are ahead and that no one was going to be happy.
On Tuesday many of those numbers became public as new Aurora Chief Financial Officer Stacey Peterson and former Aurora CFO Brian Caputo, who agreed to come back to the city as director of fiscal integrity to help deal with the budget, presented the statistics to the City Council.
Caputo, who was highly respected as the city’s finance head from 1998 until 2017, described them as the worst he’s ever seen. Which caught some City Council members by surprise, including Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, who also described the hiring of Caputo as “spot on in adding credibility” to the mayor’s concerns because of the former CFO’s much-respected reputation.
Likewise, Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, pointed out at the meeting that in the six years she has “sat in this chair,” the council balanced the budget, and wanted to know, as she looked at the massive deficit, “how did we go from that to this?”
In laymen’s terms, said Peterson, the city was relying on $37 million in temporary American Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief funding for recurring programs and initiatives, and redirecting funding from one fund to another.
Although the aldermen seemed more resigned to the fact Laesch was not exaggerating when he said tough days were ahead, when I asked the mayor if he felt a bit vindicated for all his dire warnings, he deflected, choosing instead to tout what he saw as a promise he said he’s kept as mayor: restoring civility to the council.
“Even those who disagree believe they have a voice at the table, unlike what I felt,” he said, referring to his battles with Irvin when Laesch was an alderman at-large. “I was treated like a second class citizen and did not like it. I treat everybody the same because it is the right thing to do.”
That philosophy, Laesch told me, extends to Aurora residents and to his relationships on the third floor of City Hall, where he hopes a “more relaxed atmosphere” makes it easier for everyone, including staff, to come to him with concerns.
“There have already been instances where I’ve been wrong,” he said. “I want to give them space to say that because that, in turn, prevents me from making a big mistake.”
Speaking of which, Laesch says there have been a few important issues that have kept him up at night, including his decision to nix a city-sponsored Juneteenth flag-raising celebration, with a flag-raising eventually held the evening before the holiday, and to postpone a recount of the Aurora census because the short notice imposed by the federal government limited “our ability to pull it off.”
While he believes both decisions were correct in the end, the execution, particularly over Juneteenth, could have been better, admitted the mayor, who, as it turns out, is not all that comfortable with the title he fought so hard to attain.
Whatever you do, don’t refer to him as “the Honorable John Laesch.” The former union carpenter who began his political career back in 2005 with an unsuccessful Democratic primary bid for Congress, would just as soon not be addressed as mayor.
“Just call me John,” says Laesch, who describes his relationships with city employees as “more relaxed.”
Also, while Laesch did take the advice of Aurora Chief of Staff Shannon Cameron to pose for some pictures during cleanup after a storm recently tore through many parts of Aurora, he’s not all that comfortable with photo-ops either.
While Laesch seemed pleased with how the city responded to Mother Nature’s unexpected challenge, the longtime political activist has been around the block enough to know any goodwill that might have come from his leadership through Aurora storms – literally and figuratively – can dissipate quickly when the next dark cloud comes along.
Can it all get exhausting? At times, of course, says Laesch, admitting to double-digit work days that have been going on since he started campaigning for mayor nearly 15 months ago. All of which has put some of his favorite stress relievers, including running, on the back burner.
The plan, Laesch said, is to take some time off in December. And he’s also breaking away from the job this weekend when his Elvis-loving stepdaughter, who Laesch described as “an amazing actress,” is in town. Included on the agenda: “Million Dollar Quartet,” the hit jukebox musical at downtown Aurora’s unique Stolp Island Theatre that has critics and audiences – including Laesch – going back to see it multiple times.
By the way, that immersive theater came into existence thanks to a half-million-dollar lift from the city and from other investors his predecessor brought in.
Which brings us back to the Paramount.
There’s been plenty of angst, and certainly tons of negative feedback, over Laesch’s proposal to dramatically pull back discussed city funding for the Paramount. It’s one thing to bemoan a budget shortfall – which is not abnormal when trying to grow, experts point out. But a good leader has to have a plan in place to move the city forward, say critics who are concerned about how the mayor’s “sky-is-falling” message can’t help but stunt if not erase the progress downtown has made.
I, for one, could not help but notice the tepid response from an otherwise exuberant audience at Friday’s opening night for “Come From Away,” which kicked off the Paramount’s new Broadway Series season, when the city of Aurora was thanked for its sponsorship prior to the show.
But Laesch continues to insist the Paramount can and should be able to function without so much financial help from the city, and points to a study commissioned by the Aurora Civic Center Authority itself stating the nonprofit that owns and operates the Paramount Theatre, Copley Theatre, Paramount School of the Arts and North Island Center plus manages the city-owned RiverEdge Park and Stolp Island Theatre needs to do more of its own fundraising in order to attain sustainability.
And he’s convinced that, with the city’s help, additional fundraising, corporate sponsorships and community support can go a long way in keeping the Paramount and the arts in Aurora thriving. (Some good news: According to theater sources, just over 25% of BOLD subscribers donated their subscription cost back to the Paramount, which raised just over $50,000.)
There are certainly still plenty of skeptics out there, of course, who believe the new mayor’s views regarding the Paramount are short-sighted and his negative messaging will hurt Aurora overall. Still, the new mayor “has made some positive inroads into the community over the last 30 days” with the series of listening forums, said retired Aurora Deputy Mayor Chuck Nelson, who served during both the Tom Weisner and Irvin administrations and was part of Laesch’s transition team.
Even those who did not vote for the mayor see him as a straight-shooter, said Nelson, who admitted he too was “a little skeptical” about Laesch’s dire financial warnings.
“Bringing Brian (Caputo) in was a bold move that says something about the mayor. That gave a lot of credibility to his administration,” insisted Nelson. “John brings a different skill set and those skills are starting to unveil themselves.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com