Trustee to become Lake in the Hills mayor

Lake in the Hills Trustee Paul Mulcahy will give up his seat to become the next mayor. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Mulcahy had 862 votes to challenger Bill Dustin’s 398, according to unofficial results.

In the race for three trustee seats, incumbents Stephen Harlfinger, Robert Huckins and Denise Barreto breezed to re-election. Harlfinger was the top vote-getter with 920 votes. He was followed by Barreto with 887, Huckins with 783, and challenger Kenneth Tentler had 489 votes.

Mulcahy and Dustin had similar ideas for the village’s future and were pleased with how well Lake in the Hills is doing now. They both pointed to the need for strong economic development and an alternate plan for improving the intersection of Algonquin and Randall roads during their campaigns.

Dustin said he visited 1,500 homes before the election and was disappointed with Tuesday’s turnout.

“It’s a shame that that little percentage of the population comes out to vote,” Dustin said.

Mulcahy, who served on the board from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2007 to now, said he was grateful for a clean campaign and humbled by the result.

In a relatively quiet village, though, Mulcahy said there were no hot-button issues he wanted to get to right away.

“I’d just like to make a smooth transition from the prosperity of the past several years into the future,” Mulcahy said.

In the trustee race, Barreto, who was first elected to the board in 2009, wants to continue work she started in her first term. She said the village needs to make the creation of a strategic plan a priority to guide its future.

Harlfinger, the board’s most veteran member, counts commercial development as a needed focus. The lifelong Lake in the Hills resident said officials need to broaden the village beyond its residential base.

Huckins, who was elected in 2001, also points to economic development as key for the village’s future. He said incentive packages could be used to lure desirable businesses into town.

Tentler, a self-employed builder, was making his first bid for public office this year.

With Mulcahy the new village president, board members will have to decide who should be appointed to replace him as trustee. Mulcahy said that would happen “in due time,” but did not specify when.