advertisement

Voters make changes in District 200

Two newcomers and only one incumbent cruised to victory Tuesday night in the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 board race.

With all 80 precincts reporting, newcomers James Vroman and Jim Gambaiani and incumbent Rosemary Swanson were the top vote-getters in the race to fill three seats on the school board.

However, two-term incumbent John Bomher narrowly lost his seat. Non-incumbents Harold Lonks, Alisha Ali and Michael Radencich also fell short.

Unofficial vote totals showed Swanson with 4,581 votes, Vroman with 4,041 votes, Gambaiani with 3,832 votes, Bomher with 3,785, Radencich with 2,957 votes, Lonks with 2,885 votes and Ali with 1,433 votes.

Among several issues the new board will oversee, one of the most visible will be the sale of the old Hubble Middle School site. In February, the school district chose to put the property out to auction. The sealed-bid auction is set to close April 14.

With Marie Slater choosing not to run for re-election, a new school board member was ensured. Incumbents Bomher and Swanson have had to answer for some controversial superintendent moves during the campaign. Just months after former Superintendent Richard Drury received a contract extension from the school board, which included the two incumbents, he skipped a meeting and the public was told that he was on vacation. Not long after, Drury was released and a new superintendent search got under way.

During the campaign, Vroman said he would promote increased transparency and communication between the board and the public.

Jim Gambaiani
James Vroman