Slates make municipal races interesting in Winfield, Bensenville

Hot municipal races are shaping up in several DuPage County communities in advance of the April 7 election.

When the filing period ended Monday, nine candidates had submitted nominating petitions to seek three seats on the Winfield village board.

In Bensenville, two slates with three candidates each filed to seek three available seats.

And in Oak Brook, two incumbents and four challengers came forward for three village board seats.

There are contested races in other towns as well, including Lisle, Lombard, Glen Ellyn and in Naperville, where 20 candidates filed last month for eight city council seats.

Here's a look at some of the more hotly contested village board or city council races:

Winfield

The nine-way race for three Winfield village board seats promises plenty of fireworks.

Incumbent Tony Reyes is running on a slate with former trustee Jay Olson and Rob Hanlon, who previously made an unsuccessful bid for village president.

Olson was part of a voting bloc with Reyes that sought rezoning on Roosevelt Road to encourage commercial development and create a larger tax revenue base for the cash-strapped village.

But then Olson lost his seat in April 2013 when voters picked candidates backed by Winfield United for a Better Community.

"We rezoned Roosevelt Road for commercial ... but they took control of the village board and reversed everything we passed," Reyes said. "So we're not done."

Winfield United, meanwhile, is expected to support trustee candidates Robert Greer and Dennis Hogan during this campaign.

"I believe we need to put an end to some of the bickering that's been on the board," said Greer, who is the editor and publisher of The Winfield Express newspaper. He added he wants to see "smart commercial development" in the village.

A third slate of candidates in the race includes Trustee James Hughes and his running mates Harold Lonks and Carl Sorgatz.

The ninth candidate - Bob Borsodi - appears to be running on his own.

When asked why Winfield has so many candidates, Greer said it's because "many different agendas" are colliding.

"Everyone has their own desire," Greer said. "And everyone is very much engaged. I think that's good. There's a lot of passion in Winfield."

Bensenville

Two parties each have filed a full slate of three candidates seeking three 4-year terms on the village board in Bensenville.

Changing Bensenville 4 the Better and Residents' Voice Party are the two groups that have candidates in the race to fill the expiring terms of trustees JoEllen Ridder, Morris Bartlett and Robert M. Jarecki.

Ridder and Jarecki are running again as part of the Changing Bensenville 4 the Better party, joined by fellow candidate Luis M. Tellez.

Opposing their party are Rosa M. Carmona, Frank DeSimone and Agnieszka (Annie) Jaworska of the Residents' Voice Party.

Regional issues such as noise from new runways at O'Hare International Airport and construction of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway extension could be bringing multiple candidates to the field, as Ridder said both topics are "affecting Bensenville hugely."

"A lot of positive things are happening," Ridder said. "People continue to want to stay involved."

Oak Brook

Oak Brook also will have a crowded ballot, with six candidates vying for three village board seats. The candidates are incumbents Asif Yusuf and Michael Manzo and challengers Edward Tiesenga, Mike Wencel, Charles Thompson and Elisa Templeton.