When Mark Cullen abruptly resigned as the city of Springfield’s top lawyer July 19, the city lost someone who had a hand in nearly every important decision made in local government, aldermen say.
With Cullen out of the picture — in the wake of a file-shredding scandal that also prompted the retirement of Police Chief Robert Williams — some aldermen say they are worried about how it will affect government operations.
Mayor Mike Houston accepted Cullen’s resignation, effective at the end of August, but said he told Cullen he no longer wanted him handling city affairs. So that stack of papers left sitting on his desk will have to be divvied up among the six assistant counsels on the city payroll.
As the top lawyer in the corporation counsel’s office, Cullen was the one who would meet daily with the mayor, he was the point man for aldermen who had any legal questions, he was familiar with all the lawsuits the city is involved in, and he provided another layer of review before any ordinance or contract came before the city council.
“The city attorney position is the most important operational position in all of city government, other than the mayor’s office,” said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, an attorney himself. “The city attorney is involved in every department, every important decision, every important contract and important ordinance. “It’s a major setback for city operations.”
Picking replacement
On Thursday, the mayor named an interim replacement for Cullen.
But instead of looking within the ranks — as Houston did when he promoted Cmdr. Kenny Winslow to be interim police chief — he tapped a retired judge, Springfield native John Mehlick, who is scheduled to take the position Aug. 15 and will be paid at the same $110,753-a-year rate as Cullen, who was appointed by Houston and had been in the job since July 2011.
Houston said Friday the reason he chose to bring someone in from the outside was to maintain the same level of staffing and get a fresh perspective about ways to improve operations.
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Cullen’s successor
Houston has not laid out a timetable publicly for naming Cullen’s permanent replacement, saying only that it will “take some time.” He acknowledged last week that not having a corporation counsel adversely affects city government, but added that the office would continue to function.
Before Cullen’s appointment, Houston’s first choice for corporation counsel, Tom Kelty, withdrew his name from consideration after being questioned about his background, which included more than two decades of financial difficulty and professional turmoil.
Making the choice himself is the same process Houston’s used before, but McMenamin wishes the mayor would take a different approach. McMenamin suggested an informal committee of legal advisers review candidates and then make a recommendation to aldermen. That approach has worked in other communities, he said.
“It’s going to be hard to find the right person to fill the position because it’s a very demanding job that requires a broad spectrum of skills,” McMenamin said. “It requires sound and mature legal and political judgment.”
***In the interest of space, this story has been edited from the original.Read the full article at sj-r.com…
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 