Springfield City Council President Tracye Whitfield, who is accused by the city solicitor of various conflict of interest violations, said she will not resign from the council as requested by a fellow councilor last week.
On the steps of Springfield City Hall Monday, Whitfield addressed comments made by Councilor Victor Davila on Friday, during a special meeting of the council. Davila asked for Whitfield's resignation due to the allegations of conflict of interest violations tied to a development company of which Whitfield was part owner, JETS Property Development, LLC.
"[Whitfield] has been consistently, persistently, recklessly violating ethics laws and our trust since 2021," Davila said. He added that if she does not resign, he will call for a vote of no confidence at the next city council meeting.
On Monday Whitfield responded, saying she will not resign from the council.
"I respectfully and firmly decline," she said. "Leadership is not about stepping aside when challenges arise. It's about standing in difficult moments, accepting responsibility, correcting mistakes, and continuing to serve with integrity. I have acknowledged my error. I have taken corrective action. I am committed to ensuring it doesn't happen again."
The mistakes and errors she cites include allegations by the city solicitor, Stephen Buoniconti, of violating the city charter by not fully disclosing her financial stake in the company to the city during discussions and the transactions for the sale of a land parcel. He also alleges Whitfield attempted to use her influence as a city councilor with other departments to assist with the business. Buoniconti has referred the case to the state ethics commission for further review.
Read the entire letter from Springfield City Solicitor here.
Whitfield is also accused of trying to use her influence in a payment dispute between the Old Hill Neighborhood Council and Desi Jackson, who did work for the organization.
Whitfield said in that case she was advocating for a constituent.
"That constituent... was contracted by the Old Hill Neighborhood Council and was owed over $13,000 at the time he contacted me. The full amount was outstanding for over a year when he reached out," she said. "He attempted to resolve the matters through several city departments, the Old Hill Neighborhood Council and other elected officials without success."
Buoniconti alleges Whitfield threatened to have the organization’s finances investigated by the city if they did not pay Jackson. Whitfield did not address that claim but said she received no financial benefit from assisting Jackson.
"My involvement was motivated solely by my duty to help a constituent seek resolution to an outstanding contractual issue," she said.
The business matter that started the city's investigation into Whitfield involved a Feb. 2 vote by the council to discontinue city ownership of a portion of Wallace Street, which abuts land owned by JETS. Whitfield did not immediately recuse herself from the proceeding despite her financial stake in JETS, or the fact that Jelani Bland, who addressed the council, is her son.
On Friday the council voted 11-0 to rescind the discontinuance. Whitfield and Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce did not attend.
When asked by councilors what would happen to the parcel of land once the vote was rescinded, he said the city will likely invest money in making it a buildable lot.
"My sense of this, upon speaking with other city officials who are much more versed in the survey and everything that was performed at the site, is that the land is of substantial value," Buoniconti said at the meeting. "The city wants to get the highest value for a property with a good use to a neighborhood."
Whitfield said she has formally resigned from the development company to "eliminate any appearance of a conflict."
"For as long as I serve as a public official, I will not conduct business with the city of Springfield," she said.
During the city council meeting Friday several other councilors, including Michael Fenton, Zaida Govan and Maria Perez, said Davila's call for Whitfield's resignation is premature. They said they would like to wait for the results of the state's ethics commission's investigation into the matter.
