Independent Daniel Didech defeated Township Citizens Party candidate Bob Kelly by approximately 1,200 votes to secure the Vernon Township supervisor position.
As part of the Township Citizens Party, Kelly campaigned with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism, highlighting operating on a balanced budget, freezing or reducing salaries for elected officials for the past four years and reducing taxes paid to the township.
Didech secured 61.94 percent (3,330) of the votes to Kelly's 38.06 percent (2,045).
"Thank you to the voters of Vernon Township for trusting us with this important responsibility," Didech said in a statement on his Facebook page. "We are ready to get to work."
Didech ran his campaign promising to freeze salaries for elected officials, fight property tax increases, increase government transparency and support township services for seniors and children with special needs.
Didech will be the first new township supervisor in four decades. The previous supervisor, William Peterson, stepped down at the age of 80 after 44 years of public service – 40 of them in the same position. Peterson, who is retiring in the hopes of doing more traveling, offered his endorsement to Kelly based on his leadership approach.
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