Five months after stepping into the role as the president of the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce, Steven Campbell announced his resignation from the post at last Thursday’s chamber board meeting.
Betty LeClere, the owner of Betty’s Flowers on Broadway Avenue who was first vice president of the chamber, was named the new president of the organization. LeClere is the mother of recently elected village Trustee David LeClere.
Campbell largely blamed his decision to bail out on a lack of communication and support for the business community from village hall.
“I’m disgusted with the performance and behavior of the village manager, assistant village manager and board,” Campbell said. “They made it impossible for me to move the chamber forward. Maybe another person will have more success.”
Campbell said that the village wouldn’t cooperate with plans the chamber had to move its annual car show to Grand Boulevard this summer, a situation that ended with the car show chairman and chamber vice president, Jeff Wahl, resigning his post as well.
While not an official chamber event, Campbell also pointed to the fate of Oktoberfest, whose future is currently in limbo after initial indications that it would happen this fall.
There was also a public disagreement in March between Campbell and village officials over a Chamber of Commerce proposal to hang “Buy in Brookfield” banners on the light poles in the village’s business district. Before allowing the banners, village officials wanted an ordinance on the books, despite the fact that the village had previously allowed other banners. The village board later passed a generic sign ordinance related to banners, which would have allowed the chamber banners with few restrictions.
The disagreements with Campbell and village hall are not new, but Village Manager Riccardo Ginex has had little patience for Campbell, who has been known to file repeated requests for information and contact village hall staff sometimes on a daily basis.
By March, Ginex notified Campbell that only the village manager would receive communications from him, and then only formally in writing.
Ginex said he did not know that Campbell had resigned from the chamber presidency and said he couldn’t comment on why Campbell was singling him out for blame.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Ginex said.
Village Trustee C.P. Hall, who serves as the board’s liaison to the chamber said that previously the chamber had an amiable relationship with the village and that getting village OK for events had been routine.
“Mr. Campbell seems to make his own problems,” Hall said. “If the desire is to have an argument, then it becomes something that, eventually, people walk away from.”
Betty LeClere, the new chamber president, said she does not anticipate a contentious relationship with the village, saying that for the nine years she’s been a member, “the chamber has worked with the village. We did not have any problems; they were always cooperative.”
LeClere added that the chamber is still hoping to have the car show this summer at its traditional location in the Broadway Avenue business district. As for Oktoberfest, she said it was not something the chamber was pursuing as an event. The chamber is still planning to hold its “60 to Win” raffle this fall.
“I think Betty is someone who can pull this together,” Hall said. “She’s one of those people who cares a great deal about the chamber. She’s a bulldog-type of person who can take a grip of this thing and run with it.”
