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First April election hopefuls file in Fox Valley

Candidates in several Fox Valley towns were ready at 8 a.m. Monday to hand in their nominating petitions for the April election, hoping to snag the covered "top of the ballot" spot.

Here's a quick look:

Elgin

Councilman John Steffen filed his nominating papers, as did residents Baldemar Lopez, Steve Thoren and Fred Moulton.

Six of the eight council seats are on the ballot: the mayor's, the 4-year seats held by Steffen, Rose Martinez, Tish Powell and Toby Shaw, and a 2-year seat to fill the vacancy left by Rich Dunne.

Moulton is running for a 4-year term. Lopez and Thoren are running for the 2-year seat.

Lopez, an attorney with offices in Chicago and Hoffman Estates, said he served as a student trustee at Elgin Community College in the early 2000s.

Moulton, a retired network engineer and contract manager with AT&T, is taking a second stab at a seat on the council after an unsuccessful run in 2015.

Thoren is a past Elgin Township trustee and a member of the city's heritage commission. He works as home equity conversion mortgage agent for The Federal Savings Bank and is a talk-show host at WRMN 1410 radio.

Aurora

When the city clerk's office opened at 8 a.m., 13 people were waiting to hand in their petitions.

Emmanuel Llamas, Peter Aguilera, Amanda Sperzel and Caryl Riley filed for the Ward 1 seat.

Third Ward Alderman Ted Mesiacos submitted his petition.

Casildo Casey Cuevas, former Kane County Board member Bonnie Kunkel and Alderman Carl Franco filed for the 5th Ward seat.

Dr. Matt Harrington, Dan Hites and Alderman Michael B. Saville filed for the 6th Ward seat.

Patty Smith, who lost a bid in November for the 84th state House district seat, submitted a petition for the Ward 8 seat.

And Alderman Sherman Jenkins filed for the alderman-at-large position.

It was the first time since 1934 a city clerk has handled election petitions. They used to be filed with the Aurora Election Commission, but voters decided in April to disband the commission.

Campton Hills

Village hall didn't open until 9 a.m. Monday, but when it did four people were there to file the nominating petitions with Village Clerk Vanessa Quail.

Trustee Mike Tyrrell, whose term expires in spring 2021, is seeking a 4-year term as village president because Harry Blecker, who was elected in 2015, is not seeking a second term.

Wendy White Eagle and Susan George are seeking 4-year trustee seats, as is Darlene Bakk, former Geneva League of Women Voters president and former member of the county's Community Development Block Grant commission. Tyrrell submitted George's nomination paperwork; she still must visit village hall to sign some forms.

Resident Rich Becker also submitted nominating petitions for the position of trustee later in the day.

A lottery will be held on Dec. 5 to determine which trustee candidate is first on the ballot.

North Aurora

In North Aurora, trustees Mark Guethle and Mark Carroll submitted petitions. The seat held by trustee Laura Curtis also is on the ballot.

Elburn

No one filed Monday morning for available seats in Elburn.

• Daily Herald staff writers Harry Hitzeman and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.

  Candidates line up Monday morning to file their nominating petitions in Aurora. Susan Sarkauskas/ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com
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