Giagnorio claims village president seat in Lombard

Lombard voters have chosen their new village president: a sitting trustee, former park board member and local pizza shop owner, Keith Giagnorio.

Giagnorio tallied 3,733 votes in unofficial results from Tuesday’s election, defeating opposing candidates John Lotus Novak and Moon Khan, who received 2,984 and 929 votes respectively.

Giagnorio, 51, said he was able to learn from the best leader the Lilac Village ever has seen, the late longtime Village President William J. “Bill” Mueller. Giagnorio said he will step into the role without a learning curve and dedicate his time to serving residents and helping the village prosper.

“(Lombardians) want a village president who is in touch with residents, someone who is actively involved in the community and who will keep Lombard first,” Giagnorio said Tuesday in a statement. “I intend to fulfill their wishes and lead us into the future.”

During the campaign, Giagnorio said the first priority once he officially takes office in May will be to unite a board that has been divided since struggling to choose temporary leadership after Mueller’s death in August.

Giagnorio began his political career on the Lombard park board in 2003 and served as board president in 2009 and 2010 until being appointed to the village board as District 2 trustee. He won re-election in 2011 before earning a 4-year term as village president in Tuesday’s election by beating Novak, a retired DuPage County Treasurer, and Khan, a former York Township trustee who works in information technology.

Tuesday’s election also decided three trustee races and resulted in Sharon Kuderna being elected village clerk.

According to unofficial results, in District 1, Dan Whittington beat incumbent Greg Gron and challenger Deborah Messineo-Jones; in District 3, Reid Foltyniewicz will serve as trustee beginning in May after beating incumbent Zachary Wilson and challenger Muzammil Saeed; and in District 6, Trustee Bill Ware was re-elected after running unopposed.