DeSimone wins tight race for Bensenville mayor

Frank DeSimone, elected as a Bensenville village trustee just two years ago, added a new title Tuesday night: Mayor.

DeSimone squeaked past opponent Henry Wesseler. Unofficial vote totals show DeSimone with 1,178 votes, and Wesseler with 926. Both men currently serve as trustees on the Bensenville village board.

Bensenville voters also were selecting three trustees from a six-person field that featured two slates: one aligned with Wesseler and the other with DeSimone.

The trustee candidates supported by DeSimone - part of the Bensenville United Party - are newcomers Ann Franz, McLane Lomax and Armando Perez. They also were victorious Tuesday night. Perez had 1,114 votes, Franz had 1,099 and Lomax had 1,034, according to unofficial vote totals.

The trustee candidates supported by Wesseler - part of the Working 4 Bensenville slate - came up short. Incumbent David Majeski had 886 votes, and newcomers Joseph Pisano had 828 votes and Sergiusz Zgrzebski had 793 votes, the results showed.

DeSimone said in his two years on the village board he played a role in consolidating responsibilities and eliminating unnecessary administrative positions that helped the village balance its budget.

He said he would fight to reduce the fees Bensenville pays to its lobbyist and public relations firm and would earmark those savings for additional senior programs - including a senior handyman service.

As mayor, DeSimone said he would promise to listen to the views of all trustees and residents.

Wesseler, who works for the Secretary of State's DMV office in Lombard, has been a trustee since 2009. In that role, he said he's been part of a resurgence in Bensenville - once deemed America's fastest-dying town by Forbes magazine - that has included a rise in housing prices, a decline in industrial park vacancies and progress in addressing flooding issues.