DeWitte won’t seek third term as St. Charles mayor
From Submitted Reports September 1, 2012 10:38AM
St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte has decided not to run for re-election.
Updated: October 3, 2012 6:16AM
ST. CHARLES — After serving the city of St. Charles as an elected official for nearly 20 years, St. Charles Mayor Donald DeWitte announced Friday that he will not seek a third term as mayor in the April 2013 municipal elections.
“I have been fortunate and blessed to have enjoyed the support of our residents, my fellow council members and the entire city staff for many years,” DeWitte said.
DeWitte was first elected to the city council in 1993 as 3rd Ward alderman, the same office his father, Alphonse DeWitte, held for 26 years. DeWitte was unopposed in two subsequent re-election bids for alderman in 1997 and 2001 before being elected mayor in 2005. He was re-elected mayor in 2009.
Earlier this month, DeWitte accepted a position with the Wine Sergi Insurance Group as vice president of business development to assist with expanding their public and private business segments in Illinois and surrounding states. “Life’s priorities have a way of determining your path,” DeWitte said in advising the city council of his new professional responsibilities. “In the words of Ronald Reagan, ‘If we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose. Somehow we win out.’ ”
Projects that have been completed during DeWitte’s two terms include the new public works facility on Seventh Avenue; the reconstruction of the fire department’s Station 1 and its administrative headquarters in the Century Station building; the Municipal Center’s riverwall and Norris Family Public Plaza reconstruction projects; the first two phases of the city’s First Street Redevelopment Project; the recently completed radium removal facility on Riverside Drive; and the Red Gate Bridge, the largest public works infrastructure initiative in the city’s history.
Under construction on the city’s northern boundary, the bridge is to open in December.
DeWitte also noted the city’s recent distinction by Family Circle Magazine in 2011 as the “No. 1 City for Families,” citing the city’s work with the school district, the park district, the library district and other government agencies. “Setting a tone of progressive government, and promoting collaborative relationships with sister government entities is just as important as bricks and mortar to the infrastructure of a community,” he said.
“None of these achievements would have been possible without the shared vision and commitment of my colleagues on the city council, the city staff and, most importantly, our residents, who have always counted on their elected officials to make decisions that will always be in the best interests of the entire community,” DeWitte added.
The elections in April 2013 also will include contests for five of the 10 aldermanic seats, as well as the city clerk and city treasurer positions.
