Mayor gives emotional goodbye at last meeting

Choking back tears, Mayor Gary Graham said he enjoyed serving as mayor for 20 years as he presided over his final City Council meeting.

“It has been a real joy to have been the mayor,” he said, emotions swelling. “I have really enjoyed being your mayor.”

His final mayor’s report at the O’Fallon City Council meeting April 17 — his 549th city meeting — was his official farewell address, and was met with a lengthy standing ovation. That wouldn’t be the only one.

Graham has served five terms, the longest of any O’Fallon mayor. He will be succeeded on May 1 by Herb Roach, a six-year alderman who defeated City Clerk Phil Goodwin in the April 4 general election.

Graham said he’ll be collecting $742 a month in retirement benefits, noting people don’t seek local office for the salary.

After council business was finished, Roach asked everyone to stand and give thanks to both Graham and Goodwin for their combined 36 years of service.

Jerry Mouser, a former alderman for 18 years who was elected to succeed Goodwin, asked permission to relate an anecdote.

“This is from about 14-15 years ago, we had a heated topic, and the mayor did not lose his temper. I didn’t know how he could do that. The mayor said, ‘It’s not personal. They feel about their position the same we feel about ours. Their decision is based on their love of the people and love of the city, and they want the very best things for the city.’ And that’s how he looked at it,” Mouser said.

Graham also thanked the candidates who ran for mayor and for other offices.

“If anyone hasn’t done this before, it’s brutal,” he said. “It’s not what people say, it’s what they don’t say. You’re standing there, and they don’t pay any attention to you.”

Graham thanked the aldermen for their service.

“They’ve made this city what it is today. Remember, the mayor only votes in a tie,” he said.

Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League, presented Graham with a plaque for his “tremendous service” to the city, region and state. IML includes 1,298 towns and villages in the state. Graham served on the board of directors beginning in 2003 and became the president in 2008, and had been involved in about every aspect, Cole said.

Graham acknowledged outgoing alderman Harlan Gerrish, who did not seek another term.

“He is a man of few words, but he does a lot of work for the city,” Graham said, particularly in efforts to beautify the city.

Gerrish said he liked serving residents. “I really enjoyed trying to help,” he said.

A retired geologist, he said he will continue to be involved in community activities. He said his family, who moved here in 2008, has enjoyed living here.

Graham also asked Jerry Albrecht, who tied with challenger Mark Riley with 489 votes apiece in Ward 1, if he wanted to say anything, in case he lost after the write-in votes were county. (On April 18, St. Clair County Tom Holbrook declared Albrecht the winner, with an additional 2 votes to Riley’s 1.)

Graham listed the city’s most valuable assets — great schools, police force, a professional staff he was very proud of, and citizens who take an active interest in the community.

Graham thanked outgoing City Attorney Dale Funk for his “dedication and time.”

The new terms of all city officials begin Monday, May 1. That is when Roach, Mouser, incumbent Treasurer David Hursey, and seven aldermen are sworn in before the council meeting.

Aldermen re-elected include Albrecht in Ward 1, Matthew Gilreath in Ward 3, unopposed Courtney Marsh in Ward 5, and Raymond Holden in Ward 6.

New aldermen include Ross Rosenberg in Ward 1, Mark Morton in Ward 4, Andrew Lopinot in Ward 5 and Dan Witt in Ward 7. The council has 14 seats.

Outgoing alderman Chris Hursey, who was appointed in the fall and ran as a write-in candidate for the unexpired two-year term, said after the meeting that he would see what the county clerk’s office canvass would yield before making a decision about a recount.

Some “issues” occurred election night regarding ballot counts, he said. Hursey said he talked with Holbrook about write-in errors in Precinct 18. “My wife and I appreciated him looking into it,” Hursey said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Mayor gives emotional goodbye at last meeting."