Compton selected for Zone 3 council seat

Springfield City Council's newest member is very familiar with the workings of council chambers.

At its Monday night meeting, council selected Jerome Compton, former chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission and current member of the city's personnel board, to fill the Zone 3 seat vacated when Ralph Manley resigned in April.

Compton was chosen over finalists Dan Scott and Jeremy Cady after all three were asked the same four questions:

• How much knowledge do you have about the economic development tools available to the city and how do you see them being used?

• What are the most important issues for Zone 3 now, and do you see any differences between issues facing Zone 3 and the rest of the city?

• Using the assumption that the Police and Fire pension issue has been resolved, what priorities do you think council should set for the next five to 10 years?

• What experience and skills do you bring to strengthen this current council's makeup?

Compton said that, while Zone 3 is fairly representative of the city as a whole, basic services and infrastructure were the most important issues facing the city over the next several years.

Councilman Dan Chiles, one of six council members who voted for Compton, said it was Compton's experience that sealed the deal.

"We lost a couple of people who had extensive experience with planning and zoning issues, and none of us on this current board have that kind of experience," Chiles said before the vote. "Mr. Compton is proficient with the work of the planning commission as well as how the population reacts to planning issues."

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky, who also voted for Compton, said any of the three would have been a good choice - though she did note one key weakness of all the finalists.

"The one big fault that all three have, and I know they can't help it, is that they're not women," the lone councilwoman joked.

Read SBJ's May 11 issue for more from Springfield City Council.