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Edward Bugg the frontrunner in Aurora Ward 9 primary

A small number of voters who turned out Tuesday in Aurora combined to make Edward Bugg the front-runner in the Ward 9 aldermanic primary, but the second- and third-place candidates finished only three votes apart in unofficial election results.

Bugg tallied 131 of 290 votes cast in DuPage, Kendall and Will counties, while Marge Linnane got 67 and Matt Harrington had 64, according to unofficial vote counts.

The top two vote-getters, once final results are determined, will see their names on the ballot for the April 9 general election to represent the ward on Aurora's far southeast side.

Bugg, a 46-year-old operating manager of a real estate firm, said Tuesday night he was encouraged by the results and excited to continue his campaign.

“I'm very happy about the results so far. I felt like we ran a campaign on the issues and we're going to continue to do that,” Bugg said. “We're going to focus on economic development, building our community, communication, letting people know what's going on and really listening to them.”

Bugg finished first among a field of five candidates that also included former Alderman-at-Large Bob Shelton, who got 17 votes Tuesday, and Michael Ochs, who received 9 votes, according to unofficial totals.

Ochs said Monday he was stepping out of the race in support of Harrington, but his name remained on the ballot.

Harrington, 50, is director of community and corporate development for the Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Aurora. He said he's an independent thinker who will keep open lines of communication with residents and never forget he works for them.

Linnane, 60, said she is soon to retire from her job as assistant planning and zoning administrator for the village of Glendale Heights and would have plenty of time to continue in public service by advocating for Ward 9 residents.

Ward 9 was one of two Aurora city council voting districts to hold a primary Tuesday. Voters in Ward 4 in Aurora, which lies mainly West of the Fox River but also includes a sizable section east of the river and south of downtown, chose William Donnell and Mavis Bates to advance to the April 9 general election.

Donnell got 221 votes in unofficial results, while Bates had 183 out of 822 votes cast. The seven-way race also included James “Jay” Leonardi, who finished with 168 votes; Charles “Chuck” Norris, who got 118; Mike “Leo” Leonardi, who received 62 votes; Duanne Kleckner, who tallied 46; and Kevin Mathews, who got the fewest votes with 18.

5 candidates competing in Aurora Ward 9 primary

Candidate departs Ward 9 race in Aurora

Two Aurora council seats contested in Tuesday primary

Marge Linnane
Matt Harrington
William Donnell
Mavis Bates
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