Shaw top vote-getter, Dresang ahead for second spot in Elgin primary

Toby Shaw was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's primary for a 2-year seat on the Elgin City Council, according to unofficial election results.

For the second-place spot, Craig Dresang was ahead of Chindavanh Keomuongchanh by just 12 votes. Shaw and the second top vote-getter will square off in the April 9 election.

Shaw got 507 votes, or 40 percent of 1,266 votes cast, with all precincts reporting in Kane County; he got 107 votes in Cook County, with all precincts reporting.

Vote tallies don't include late absentee and provisional ballots.

Dresang, 50, is a vice president of marketing for a hospice care program. He had a combined 224 votes in Cook and Kane counties.

Keomuongchanh, 50, owns an insurance agency in Elgin and is a board member of the Lao American Organization of Elgin. He had a combined 212 votes in Cook and Kane counties.

Shaw, 34, an IT database manager who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the city council in 2011, attributed his win to his experience as a member of the Elgin budget task force in summer 2011, and his regular attendance of city council meetings.

“I think both those experiences really allowed me to understand what the issues are. I think that's important,” he said.

He also ran a better campaign and had name recognition this time around, he said.

Shaw said he wants to curb taxes and fees in Elgin, and work on prioritizing the city's spending. “The residents are hurting. They've been forgotten about a little bit,” he said.

A total of nine candidates ran in the primary. The other candidates in Tuesday's primary were Thomas McCarthy, Jason Dusenberry, Michael DeBrocke, Daniel Schultz, Roy W. Chapman III and Larry Wegman.

Thirteen other candidates are running for four 4-year seats in the April election. Those candidates are incumbents Richard Dunne, Robert Gilliam and John Prigge, and challengers Andrew Cuming, Mitchell Esterino, Cody Holt, Terry Gavin, Stephen Knight, Rosemarie Kahn, Thomas Armstrong, Jerri McCue, Grace Richard and Carol Rauschenberger.

Elgin's 2010 Census count requires expansion of the city council by two members. To keep the election cycle even, one new member will serve two years and the other one will serve four.