For the first time in his 10-year tenure, DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom saw his committee assignments rejected Tuesday.

The move reflects a new political landscape formed in the November election.

Every two years, the chairman chooses who will sit on the board’s 14 committees and who will serve as vice chairman. The County Board must then vote to approve the appointments.

This year, the three Democrats who were elected to the board joined six Republicans in voting down the committee assignments Schillerstrom presented. Eight board members voted in favor, and one was absent.

“I’m not really sure what the genesis of this is,” Schillerstrom said after the vote. “I’ll go back to the drawing board, I guess.”

Schillerstrom said he thought his assignments reflected board members’ preferences. He said he will now make adjustments and bring a new list to the board in January for approval.

Members on both sides of the vote said there is a group who wants the board to decide committee assignments rather than allowing the chairman to dole them out. The board would have to amend its rules to allow for the change.

Six board members called a special meeting prior to the regularly scheduled meeting to address a rules change, but the meeting was canceled when not enough members showed up.

Patrick O’Shea, R-2nd District, of Lombard said the vote did not surprise him. Had Schillerstrom’s appointments been approved, O’Shea would have served as vice chairman.

“Some people feel it’s better to have the County Board pick committee assignments,” O’Shea said. “I think what that will cause is more polarization of the board.”

Democrat Dirk Enger, 6th District, of Winfield would have served on six committees had the appointments been approved. While he said he “couldn’t be happier” with his assignments, he voted against the measure because he was not happy with the process.

“I don’t agree with the chairman getting to pick the committee members,” Enger said. That authority should be in the hands of the board, he said.

Brien Sheahan, R-2nd District, of Elmhurst, who has been critical of Schillerstrom, also voted against the assignments. While he declined to elaborate on the reasons for his vote, he said board members will work with the chairman to address their concerns.

“We continue to look forward to working with the chairman to find committee assignments that are acceptable to the majority of the board,” Sheahan said.

Following the election of Enger and fellow Democrats Rita Gonzalez, 1st District, of Addison and Tony Michelassi, 5th District, of Aurora, Sheahan spoke of the opportunity for “reform-minded” Republicans to form a coalition with them.

The three Democratic votes were essential to forming the majority that defeated Schillerstrom’s appointments.

“It’s obviously a whole new ball game,” Schillerstrom said.