Lencioni runs for alderman, but St. Charles ordinance could keep him from taking office

Like all the other alderman candidates in St. Charles, Paul Lencioni picked up his candidate packet, gathered the required signatures and met the deadline for submitting the materials to city officials.

That's where the comparisons end.

Unlike the others running for office, the president and CEO of Blue Goose Market faces an opponent beyond his Ward 3 challenger on the April 6 ballot: a city ordinance preventing liquor license holders from serving in an elected position.

It's been on the books for decades and has remained there long after the state relaxed regulations regarding public officials and liquor licenses in municipalities with fewer than 55,000 people.

Twice Lencioni has made an appeal to the city council to overturn the ordinance, and twice he's been rebuked. He and his lawyer appeared at the Dec. 14 meeting to plead with aldermen to adhere to the state statutes followed by other communities.

The response at the Zoom meeting, beyond a couple of sparse comments, was awkward silence.

It signaled a long road ahead for Lencioni and his attempt to beat both Charles Amenta — the St. Charles city clerk and Lencioni's opponent for the Ward 3 alderman seat — and the ordinance.

“This local ordinance, I don't think there's any way you can argue for it if you actually take a bigger picture of what a great city and great country is,” Lencioni said. “You can't make an argument that less liberty is good.”

Lencioni, 46, has deep roots in the community through the family market founded by his great-grandmother in 1928. Despite being aware of the ordinance, he still decided in the summer to run.

After several aldermen said they didn't support a change, no action was taken at a government operations committee meeting in August.

Lencioni also applied for the Ward 3 seat vacated when William Turner resigned in August, but Mayor Ray Rogina appointed Lucy Gruber and was backed by a unanimous city council vote. Gruber is not running to keep the seat.

The issue, the aldermen say, is a potential conflict of interest with the many liquor-related agenda items that come before the city council. Too many critical votes would be affected by an alderman with a liquor license having to continually abstain.

“It's not just a one-off abstention due to a conflict of interest,” said Ward 1 Alderman Ron Silkaitis. “This could be every other week.”

St. Charles is not alone. Algonquin, Carpentersville and West Chicago are nearby communities with similar ordinances. Batavia and Geneva are among the municipalities that allow public officials to have liquor licenses.

Lencioni expects his candidacy to be challenged, but he also expects to remain on the ballot. If he wins the election, however, he has no idea what follows.

“If I stay on the ballot and I lose, I accept that,” he said. “But I've gotten a lot of great feedback on this. I don't know what happens if I win.”

Lencioni has a few months to sway the city council, and some of the aldermen appear ready to offer support.

Ward 4 Alderman Lora Vitek said times have changed and smart business people should be allowed to run even if they hold a liquor license. Ward 5 Alderman Ed Bessner, who is an account manager in the wine and spirits business, said he sees no harm in exploring the subject.

“To me, the alcohol industry is not a taboo,” Bessner said. “I'm not suggesting it's a taboo to anybody else on this council but it's a normal way of life for myself.”

After the April election, there will be a new mayor — Vitek faces Ward 5 Alderman Maureen Lewis to replace Rogina, who isn't running for a third term — and new aldermen who could sway the argument.

It's possible if Lencioni wins, the city council will accept the result and change the ordinance. It's also possible the Ward 3 election would be voided because Lencioni can't be seated, and the new mayor would appoint an alderman.

“There are so many variations on this theme that it's hard to even try and construct a flow diagram for it,” City Administrator Mark Koenen said.

Between now, the April 6 election and the seating of newly elected officials on May 3, time will tell.

“I feel like I'm fighting for St. Charles,” Lencioni said. “I need to show them that this is what the people want. There's a real chance they don't make the change, but I get the opportunity through this campaign to elevate the conversation.”