Lake County Gazette

Where they chose to run again, incumbents won the day in local races across Lake County. 

Village of Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz was re-elected April 4 in a tightly contested race. Lentz took 46.1 percent of votes, barely edging out challenger Holly Kim, who had 45.8 percent of votes. Ray Ladewig had 8.1 percent of votes.

Lentz and Ladewig ran as independents, while Kim ran as part of coalition called A Mundelein United. During his campaign, Lentz said under his leadership, the village has worked to attract new businesses, pointing to improvements downtown and to existing businesses, as well as redevelopment efforts.

 

With six candidates vying for three seats, the Mundelein Board of Trustees race pitted two incumbents against four challengers.

Trustees Dawn Abernathy (17.4 percent) and Ray Semple (18.3 percent) held onto their seats. Former Trustee Robin Meier (17 percent) will rejoin the board next term. Scott Black, Karthik Chandramouli and Jeanne Cygnus were defeated.

On the ballot, Chandramouli, Cygnus and Meier ran under the banner of A Mundelein United. Abernathy, Black and Semple ran as independent candidates.

During the race, Abernathy pointed to her record as a fiscal conservative and history of voting against property tax increases. She remained concerned about the state's ongoing budget issues that could affect the village. Abernathy was running for her second four-year term as trustee.

Semple, who has served since 1995, pointed to the positive economic impact of the Hawley Lake Plaza renovation, the Jewel-Osco store opening and new businesses moving into the village.

Katy Timmerman was elected Mundelein village clerk, beating Arnold P. Krinski with 55.4 percent of votes. 

The new Wauconda mayor is Lincoln Knight, who bested One Wauconda candidate Bryan Anderson, after receiving 61.2 percent of votes.

Term limits may have been the deciding factor in the mayoral race, with Anderson supporting a limit of two terms and Knight, the Wauconda Forward candidate, remaining opposed. Mayor Frank Bart did not seek re-election.

Anderson, a political newcomer, argued that all village finance decisions should be based on their effect on the taxpayers. His experience in private industry focused on collaborative efforts in sales, management and training. He pointed to those skills as beneficial to the intricacies of village management.

In other Wauconda races, Cheryl Falk-Novak won the village clerk race and Adam Schlick and Richard Morino will join incumbent Tim Howe on the Board of Trustees.

In Wildwood, two seats on the Park District Board were filled by David Rupp (40 percent) and Anna Nelson (34 percent). They edged out Becky Jante, who had 26.6 percent of votes.

Campaigns focused on credit card expenditures authorized by the board while the park facilities slid into disrepair. Each candidate expressed a determination to return the park district to its "glory days." The district's out-of-control spending, inadequate record keeping and deterioration of the parks and lakes motivated them to run for the board. Rupp served on the board for six years in the 1990s.

In Vernon Township, with support from 62 percent of voters, Daniel Didech was elected to replace Supervisor William Peterson, who is stepping down after serving 40 years in the position. Didech defeated Robert Kelly, a Township Citizens Party candidate who ran on a platform of minimal tax bills and keeping the township debt free. 

A lifelong resident and municipal attorney, Didech focused his campaign on salary freezes for elected officials, opposing property tax increases and government transparency. He also supported expansion of services for seniors and children with special needs.

In other races, challenger Michael Lofstrom beat Bryant Schroeder for highway commissioner, and Jonathan Altenberg, Philip Hirsh, Roger Addelson and Adam Broad were elected to fill four trustee seats. 

In West Deerfield Township, Supervisor Alyson Feiger and Clerk Kristen Scott retained their seats.

Ahead of the elections, those races were marred by a complaint over a township flier that appeared to endorse incumbents. Republican challengers Louis Stone and Yale Gordon called the flier "cheap." West Deerfield Republicans have called for the township to be reimbursed for the cost of the flier and its postage. Though the election is over, the investigation into the mailer is ongoing.

The race for the board of trustees saw newcomers Kaye Kharasch and Paras Parekh join incumbents Ron Levitsky and Ron Schwartz for the new term. 

Unofficial election results were announced by Lake County, with all precincts reporting at 9:23 p.m. April 4.