Top races on ballot in Fox Valley
Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to make their picks in municipal, library, school board and park district races. After months of sometimes contentious debates and campaigning, here's a look at the top hot races across the Fox Valley.
Elgin
Mayor David Kaptain is running for a second term against challenger Joseph Galvan, a past regional director for the Midwest region of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Kaptain wants to strengthen education through a local collaborative that he spearheaded and build the city into an arts and entertainment destination. Galvan says he would focus on economic development and bridge the gap between government and Elgin's large Latino population.
Eleven hopefuls are in contention for four spots on the city council. They are: incumbents John Steffen, Tish Powell, Rose Martinez and Toby Shaw and challengers Kyle Scifert, Julie Schmidt, Jason Dusenberry, Fred Moulton, Mohammad "Mo" Iqbal, Jaime Hjelm and Andrew Cuming.
Dusenberry is the general manger of the Hampton Inn Hotel in Elgin. Schmidt worked until a few months ago as director of a customer software design company and is a past board member of Elgin OCTAVE, a fiscally conservative group. Scifert is a detective for the Aurora Police Department. Moulton retired from AT&T and IBM, while Iqbal is a retired attorney and civil engineer. Cuming is a Web designer and president of the South West Area Neighbors. Hjelm owns A Taxicab Leasing Corp. in South Elgin.
Carpentersville
Incumbents Don Burroway and Paul Humpfer and newcomers Humberto Garcia, Sara Miller, Jeffrey Sabbe and Christopher Scholl are vying for three seats on the village board.
Humpfer said the village's staff levels are "at the bone" after 30 positions were cut in the last seven years, but Garcia said there is still room for cuts. Burroway said the village is spending the right amount on staffing.
Sabbe said he has no qualms with village spending and would not want to cut anything from police and fire department budgets. Scholl, a village firefighter, advocated hiring part-timers for the fire department and cutting administrative jobs.
Elgin Area School District U-46
Eight candidates are vying for four 4-year terms on the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board: Lawrence Bury, Phil Costello, Susan Kerr and Ed Novak, all of Bartlett; Jeanette Ward of West Chicago; Arisleyda Taylor of Streamwood; and incumbents Traci Ellis and Jennifer Shroder, both of Elgin.
Kai Rush and Cody Holt, both of Elgin, are vying for an unexpired 2-year term.
Kerr, 58, has been a member of the U-46 Citizens Advisory Council for about 20 years. Novak, 59, works in retail management and is a current Bartlett Public Library District trustee. Ellis, 52, an assistant director at Northern Illinois University, is completing her first term on the board. Taylor, 29, is an import specialist. Ward, 41, is a parent volunteer. Bury, 49, deputy director of the Northwest Municipal Conference, serves on the U-46 Citizens Advisory Council. Costello, 59, a certified public accountant, has served on the board of ChildServ and Homes for Children Foundation P.A.D.S.
Shroder recently endorsed Ellis, Kerr, Bury and Taylor for the 4-year seats, essentially taking herself out of the running.
Holt, 23, works in financial services; Rush, 37, is a teacher at St. Charles East High School and served on U-46's Citizens Advisory Council.
Elgin Community College
Incumbents Bob Getz and Donna Redmer and challenger Jeffrey Meyer are vying for two 6-year seats.
Redmer, of Dundee Township, is a retired educator completing her first term on the board. Meyer, 33, is an Elgin attorney. Getz, 72, of Elgin, is a retired Harper College administrator who has served 12 years on the board.
The candidates don't support a future tax levy increase and believe in keeping college tuition low.
Gail Borden Library
Six candidates are running for the board, including Penny Wegman and Randy Hopp, who each served on the library board until 2013. Incumbents Herb Gross, Carlos Chavez and Jean Bednar and challenger Donna Kline are also in the running.
Wegman and Hopp said they are not in favor of remodeling the first floor of the main library, a project roughly estimated at $611,000 to be funded by reserves. The other four candidates disagreed, saying it's about better serving patrons.
Gross said it's important to be responsive to the community's needs and stay on top of technology. Bednar said the library must reach out to unserved residents and trustees must be good financial stewards. Hopp said he wants to push for timely financial transparency. The library should spend money wisely and focus on technology, Wegman said. Chavez touted his background in business and nonprofit development as an asset to the board.
Pingree Grove
Village President Greg Marston and the board's longest-serving trustee, Steve Wiedmeyer, are vying for the village's top post.
Marston, 44, is running for a second term and says he wants to keep the village on a path of transparency and fiscally responsible growth. Wiedmeyer said his experience running a business and his 18 years on the board make him the best candidate.
McHenry County College
The six candidates running for seats on the McHenry County College board have different ideas about how the institution needs to be more creative in delivering education.
Incumbents Ron Parrish and Michael Smith, who was appointed in October, face challengers Jeff Hill and Scott Summers, a former trustee, for two 6-year seats. Candidates Karen Tirio and Matthew Hardt are running for one 4-year seat.
Hill advocates data driven budgeting. Smith, Parrish and Summers want more partnerships with the private sector. Tirio proposed hosting social functions at the college to get the community to connect with the institution. MCC should consider a diesel technology program, Hardt said.
• Daily Herald staff writers Felipe Cabrera and Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.