Poynton returns for another 4 years as Lake Zurich mayor
Lake Zurich Mayor Thomas Poynton will return to lead the village for another four years.
With all 13 precincts reporting, unofficial totals show Poynton topped challenger Alex Samoila by 1,351 votes to 951 in Tuesday's election. It was Samoila's first run for elected office.
Poynton had been in the middle of a 4-year village board trustee term when he defeated then-Mayor Suzanne Branding and Mary Black to become Lake Zurich's top elected official in 2013.
Downtown redevelopment was one of the issues in the mayoral race where Poynton and Samoila differed.
Poynton, 70, a retired sales and marketing executive in the consumer products industry and former small-business owner, said feedback from the development community and research indicate houses would be the best option to pursue at this time because new businesses need to see enough potential customers to support them if they located downtown.
Samoila, 36, who works in the financial services industry, said while he could see why more houses would be needed downtown to attract retail development, he questioned why there is no estimated number of residents identified to achieve the goal.
"Today was the proudest day of my life," Samoila said after Tuesday's defeat. "My goal was to engage the community and bring the community together." He said he intends to stay active in village issues.
Poynton, who could not be immediately reached for comment, has said there have been several accomplishments under his administration, including establishing the downtown Rock the Block festival in September and new business attraction. He was first elected as a village trustee in 2007.
Samoila's profile elevated late last year when he publicly questioned the village board's approval of 48 one- and two-bedroom apartments in his neighborhood on the northwest corner of Old Rand Road and Main Street downtown. He said he wanted to bring fresh energy as mayor to help attract new businesses to Lake Zurich.