In first meeting, new commissioner becomes Park Board president

A first-year commissioner is the next leader of the Winnetka Park Board.

In an unconventional move, Park Board commissioners during their Thursday, May 22 meeting voted to make Elise Gibson, a commissioner elected in April, the board’s next president — only moments after she was sworn into office.

Incumbent commissioner Jeff Tyson, first elected by Winnetka voters in 2023, nominated Gibson for the position during the board’s annual meeting, which followed commissioners’ regularly scheduled monthly session.

Commissioners then subsequently voted 5-2 to appoint Gibson the next president of the board. Tyson, Gibson, Christina Codo, David Seaman and Scott Corley voted in favor while Commissioners Cynthia Rapp and Colleen Root voted in opposition.

Prior to the board tabbing Gibson as president, Root motioned to nominate and elect Rapp as the board’s leader. In a short speech that preceded the nomination, Root championed Rapp’s candidacy by describing her as “one of the hardest working people she’s ever seen in a local government job” while also noting her “years of experience serving on the board.”

“I think the most amazing thing about commissioner Rapp is, no matter how late the evening is, no matter how contentious the subject matters have been, Cynthia always finds a way to reach across the table to all of us and remind all of us that we serve collaboratively and work together,” Root said. “ … I think that this park district would truly flourish under your leadership if other commissioners agree and if you’re willing to accept that responsibility.”

Root also cited Gibson’s newly elected status as a reason for her support of Rapp.

“Elise, I think you are an incredibly capable person but this is your first minute as a Park Board commissioner and the path is one (that) … is a learning experience, even for the most incredibly competent people.”

Commissioners approved Gibson’s nomination first, rendering the motion to elect Rapp irrelevant.

After Gibson took the helm, commissioners then voted to elect Tyson as the board’s vice president. Codo, the former president of the park board, nominated Tyson, and the motion passed unanimously.

The newly elected Corley and Gibson and the incumbent Root were sworn in for their next four-year terms at the opening of the park board’s annual meeting. Each of the three commissioners ran in the April election as caucus-slated candidates, The Record previously reported.

Gibson was the race’s leading vote-getter and finished narrowly ahead of Corley. Root, who began her first term on the board in 2021, finished third in a group of six candidates who vied for the three open seats on the board.

At the conclusion of the board’s preceding regular meeting, commissioners bid farewell to longtime elected officials Warren James and Eric Lussen. Both James and Lussen served multiple terms on the Park Board and held leadership positions. James was previously the board’s president and vice president while Lussen also recently held the role of vice president.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.