Stephen Herzog

SHERZOG@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Councilman Justin Burnett has rescinded his resignation, one day after he submitted a letter stating that intent.

"I have decided to rescind my resignation and will be taking a break from college instead in order to focus on my health and priorities in Zone 2," Burnett said in an email to City Council, announcing that he is rescinding the resignation issued Jan. 14.

During an interview Friday, Burnett said much of the stress he felt from his job on council was from online comments.

"Especially the social media aspect of politics, it does get to you," he said. "It catches up with you eventually. I think there are probably some political veterans that it wouldn't, but for me being new to the public eye, it did have an impact."

He said stepping down would have been "an easy fix, but not the best fix."

In his letter to City Council members, Burnett said he made the change after "sleeping on (it)."

"The community's response to my resignation was overwhelmingly positive and I vow to use this opportunity to seek peace between both sides of the issues going forward," he said.

He said he wants to use this opportunity as a chance to start over with the community.

"Especially with those that have had disagreements with some of my viewpoints in the past, I want to attempt to bridge that," he said. "We've had a highly polarizing time in city politics. I think that's simply an example of what we see on the state and national level."

City Attorney Dan Wichmer said the resignation could be rescinded prior to the effective date, which in this case would be 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan 15.

Mayor Bob Stephens said he wasn't surprised to get a resignation letter from Burnett on Thursday, but he was surprised by the timing.

"Justin had mentioned on a couple occasions that at some point he might like to be in the state House of Representatives," Stephens said, adding he thought he might get a resignation letter in late February when it was time to declare for such offices.

"The timing of the letter yesterday was a surprise," he said. "The rescinding of the letter today was a complete surprise."

Stephens said he's pleased to hear Burnett wants to make the community less divisive.

"I would love to be able to build a bridge with Mr. Burnett," Stephens said. "During his early time on council, he has kind of stood apart from council a little bit. It's a lot easier to get the work of the city done if you're not either divided into camps or dealing with drama."

Burnett, who represents Zone 2 in northeast Springfield, said he's found, even during his short time on council, that he can work with colleagues who have different viewpoints than his.

"They have great ideas as well," he said. "They also believe in what they do. The same with those in the community. Just because we have different viewpoints doesn't mean we're wrong. It doesn't mean we don't love our community."

He said he believes a key to bridging the gap is to show the community that he's listening. He said he's planning a town hall meeting at a later date to help accomplish that goal.

"That's one thing that hopefully can come out of this," he said, "that we can heal that divide."

Katie Webb, who is helping lead the effort to recall Burnett from office, said the group will continue with its plan.

She said his resignation and quick reversal only strengthened the recall supporters' desire to have Burnett removed.

"It just shows that he's in over his head," Webb said.

She said she's skeptical that he will be less divisive going forward.

"I've always said, if he starts doing his job, people will vote to keep him in office," she said. "If he does it, great. But he wasn't listening to his constituents, and he's not doing it today."

In his original resignation letter, Burnett said the time commitment, in combination with work and school, was causing health problems.

"While meeting (the demands of the job) has been my pleasure, the combined responsibilities of work, school, and council often rack up between 80-100 hours per week, which has taken a serious toll on my health," Burnett wrote in his resignation letter.

"As a country boy, the extreme polarization in city politics was unexpected and has contributed to my decision to pursue a different calling in life, preferably where I can continue to help people in a less publicized manner. This experience has re-shaped my career aspirations and I now know that politics in its modern hyper-polarized form — on both the right and the left — is not within that goal."