Republican sides with Dems in new county leadership deal Board chairman Sands says committee has its own deal

DeKalb County Board members Ruth Anne Tobias and Jeff Metzger announce a resolution Monday that would appoint them to chairwoman and vice chairman of the board for the 2004-2006 term. Chronicle photo HOLLY LUNDH

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DeKALB - Despite his caucus' feelings, a Republican county board member stands firm in his agreement with Democrats to vote in their leader as chair. He in turn would become the board's vice chair. Jeff Metzger, R-Sandwich, announced during a press conference Monday afternoon at Nehring Forest Preserve that he will support Democrat Ruth Anne Tobias of DeKalb as the next chair. Tobias, who has been on the board since 1999, would be the county's first woman chair. The 25-year-old said he hoped his caucus would understand his desire to end the standoff between the county board's Republicans and Democrats over the issue. By agreeing to vote with the Democrats on chair leadership, Metzger would give that side 13 votes. The board is evenly split, with 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans. He and the Democrats reached the agreement Sunday night. Other Republicans didn't learn of it until after the press conference Monday afternoon, which the Republicans weren't invited to, according to current Chair Denny Sands, R-Shabbona. Metzger said it was time someone on the board "put aside partisan politics and did what was best for the county." Republicans walked out of a board meeting Dec. 6 when Democrats voted down a resolution that would have split the chairmanship between Sands and Tobias, who each would serve one year. Tobias said the last time the board had a split like this was in 1996 or 1997, when it voted four times to determine a chairman. She hoped the agreement with Metzger would allow the board to get back to work. Since the Dec. 6 meeting, the caucuses each nominated three representatives to discuss the situation in an ad hoc committee. The committee met Monday night, and Sands, one of the committee members, said it decided not to forward Metzger's agreement to the board. Instead, it will forward a new one in which Tobias would be the chair and Sands the vice chair. Republicans will be more willing to support this second plan, Sands said. "The press conference yesterday was premature," he said. "We need to follow board rules, and board rules say that the ad hoc committee forms the recommendation. You can't let one person dictate to the 23 others how the board makeup will occur. That's bad politics." Metzger said he wasn't surprised to hear about the recommendation in which Sands would become vice chair. "In desperate times, people take desperate measures," he said. "(Sands has) made it clear that he wants to keep a leadership role." Republicans have threatened to keep the agreement in which Metzger would become vice chair from reaching a board vote by not approving its inclusion in the agenda for Wednesday night's meeting. Metzger said he is being punished by the Republicans because he went against the status quo. "It's a sad day when they question my loyalty," Metzger said. He said he's received calls from some who told him they no longer respect him. He would need two-thirds of the board to approve adding the agreement to Wednesday's agenda. Otherwise, the agreement will have go through the executive committee and be recommended to the board, or eight members would have to call a special meeting of the board for this particular issue. Sands doesn't expect two-thirds to allow it on the agenda for Wednesday night's meeting. Instead, he hopes the caucuses discuss the plan in which he would be vice chair and then vote on it during a special session or after it receives a recommendation from the executive committee. But a Democratic ad hoc committee member said Sands' option won't fly with Democrats. Steve Faivre of Kingston said Democrats met with the ad hoc committee's Republicans Monday to hear what they had to say, but the Democrats have decided to stick with the original agreement with Metzger. "He's the only one all 12 of us have signed on with," Faivre said. "We share some of the same goals with him, and I certainly admire his energy and think he is bright." Renee Messacar can be reached at rmessacar@ pulitzer.net.