Ruzanski wins Lake in the Hills mayoral race

Lake in the Hills trustee Russ Ruzanski handily defeated incumbent Village President Paul Mulcahy Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Unofficial vote totals show Ruzanski with 807 votes (nearly 62 percent of votes cast) to Mulcahy's 489 votes.

Ruzanski, 70, is a retired sales manager for Coca-Cola Chicago who has served as village trustee since 2011. His primary reason for challenging Mulcahy was the mayor's current legal woes.

Mulcahy, 65, was charged Nov. 6 with misdemeanor domestic battery and causing bodily harm to a woman he was dating. He is accused of dragging the woman by her feet down a flight of stairs and across the floor before throwing her out of his house, according to the police report obtained by the Daily Herald.

He was released after posting $200 bail. Mulcahy's next court appearance is scheduled for April 12 at the McHenry County Government Center, 2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock, court records show.

Mulcahy, who previously served 10 years as village trustee, has said he "deeply regrets" what happened, but that it should not affect his duties as mayor.

During the campaign, Ruzanski also criticized Mulcahy for not appointing any women to vacancies on the village board, and his handling of problems with a previous village manager who resigned after nearly 20 years with the village.

The candidates also differed on how successful the village's economic development efforts have been since hiring a new coordinator.