Jones narrowly retains Kane board seat

Some expected Gerald Jones, the most senior Democrat on the Kane County Board, to coast to another term representing District 7 Tuesday night.

The race for the Democratic nomination - and the next two years on the board since no Republican is running in the November general election - was tighter than expected.

But Jones pulled out a narrow victory by just 13 votes, 309 to 296, over challenger Lorena Cundari, according to unofficial results.

"I was hoping for a wider margin of course," said Jones, who speculated there may have been some backlash against Democratic incumbents from voters. "This is a very difficult time period to campaign in (because of the weather and holidays)."

Cundari put heat on Jones during the race for the long lines of people waiting for the H1N1 vaccine and possible vaccination of many outside high-risk groups when the initial batch arrived. Jones is chairman of the county board's Public Health Committee and oversees the Kane County Health Department.

Jones credited Cundari with running an aggressive campaign and said the biggest challenge will be controlling county spending and dealing with the tough economy. "The county is struggling to keep its head above water, but we're better off than a lot of municipalities," he said.

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