The Thornton Village Board voted Thursday to name Trustee Joe Pisarzewski acting mayor, six weeks after the Mayor Robert Kolosh announced he would retire at the end of August.
Kolosh reiterated this was a retirement and not a resignation, citing his decade of service in the position as well as his wife’s recent retirement and their recent purchase of a Florida home. Kolosh’s replacement was selected after a closed-door session in which Pisarzewski and two other trustees expressed interest, Pisarzewski said.
“I was born and raised in Thornton. I actually worked my whole life in Thornton,” said Pisarzewski who worked 30 years for Thorton’s Public Works Department before retiring and becoming a trustee 12 years ago. “(I) just kind of know the town in and out. I think that kind of helped me, from experience that I’ve had.”
Trustee Maxine Reynolds said the fit felt natural, noting Pisarzewski has been selected by the board to fill in during meetings when Kolosh was out of town.
Pisarzewski, 68, was noncommittal when asked if he will run for mayor in April 2025.
“I’m starting to get up in age a little bit but I’ll see how I feel,” said Pisarzewski.
In the meantime, Pisarzewski will maintain his trustee position and vote on matters. This also means he won’t be allowed to act as the tiebreaking seventh vote, normally the role for the mayor. In a 3-3 split, a measure will automatically fail, Pisarzewski said.
“There’s only been several cases where we’ve had to have the mayor vote on something,” Pisarzewski said. “So we are taking a chance. But the winning team, whether it was a no vote or a yes vote, whoever won the battle, has a chance to bring it up in committee again; to bring up the subject that we had a tie on.”
Kolosh’s announcement came as a surprise to several people in town, including some of the trustees.
“I didn’t have no clue,” Pisarzewski said. “When he came to the board, nobody really knew except for him and the staff. I was very surprised. It was a kind of a shock to me.”
Kolosh explained he wanted to tie loose ends, not be a distraction and wanted to conclude his term as president of the South Suburban Mayor’s and Managers Association.
“Almost everybody felt very confident with Joe stepping in in my place,” Kolosh said. “I feel very confident that we got a good core group of people at the village and that we are a great team.”
Now, the town looks ahead on issues like implementing a low-cost loan it recently received from the Environmental Protection Agency to install new water meters and paint Thornton’s water storage tanks. Pisarzewski’s colleagues echoed an appreciation for the past administration and optimism for the next year and a half.
“We are going to miss Bob Kolosh, he was a great mayor and a leader,” said Trustee Rosemary Cunningham. “And I’m very happy with Joe.”
