Kopachek resigns

“What leads me here tonight is that…I can’t do this anymore. These meetings are getting increasingly more challenging to attend,” stated Janesville council member Melissa Kopachek on a late-night Facebook video which she used to announce her intention to resign. The video was posted Tuesday, March 14, after the most recent city council meeting.

The Janesville council held a special meeting Thursday, Mar. 16 to accept the resignation, effective immediately. 

Some of Kopachek’s comments centered around a statement read during the Tuesday meeting in which Janesville Mayor Andy Arnoldt apologized for a lack of civility and order during recent meetings. He asked council members to show more decorum and to treat one another with more respect.

Kopachek stated that, in her opinion, Arnold’s apology was aimed more toward city staff members than toward council members or the public. 

“I thought [the mayor’s] apology toward Jason Moran and Clinton Rogers was very sincere and heartfelt,” she said. “I do wish that some of that effort would have applied to some follow through.”

Kopachek went on to state that, although Arnold’s statements claimed that meetings would be run more effectively, Tuesday’s session was not much changed. She told the Pioneer that “Council members were still permitted to speak without permission, Jason Moran was allowed to interrupt and speak from his chair several times, and at one point, Mayor Arnoldt even allowed a random public member to question the fire department on the truck purchase.

“It went right down the tube real quick,” she continued. “Did I expect it? Yes. Am I shocked? No.”

During her Facebook video, Kopachek read a statement while fighting back tears: “I cannot keep showing up to these meetings fighting tooth and nail, taking hit after hit, and then looking up and seeing almost an empty room. Your council is going to continue treating people like this no matter who comes through the door until the citizens show up and start reminding them who is in charge.

“I wanted so badly to be the one who helped you all through this change. But I’m out of fight, and I have two beautiful daughters that need their mom.

“This decision does not come lightly. I’ve spent the last three weeks calling and meeting with various leaders, mentors, and people I care about to see what my recourse is with this city. But I realize now that given the state of council, I cannot make effective changes to this city. And I’m not representing you well, or properly.”