Faces from past, present emerge as candidates begin filing season
Former Grayslake mayor Pat Carey threw her hat back into the political ring on Monday by filing as a candidate for a Lake County Board seat.
Carey, a Democrat from Grayslake, will face off against Gurnee Democrat Sharyn Elman in the Feb. 5 primary. Monday was the first day for candidates to file their election petitions for 2008 elections. The filing period ends next Monday.
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Carey, who stepped down from politics six years ago due to career demands, said her desire to serve at the local level is her reason for seeking the 11th District Lake County Board seat.
"I'm no longer in the same corporate job I was before and have the time to commit now," she said. "I think there are a lot of challenges out there as we hear about traffic and taxes. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Whoever wins the primary race will face Republican incumbent Terese Douglass in the November general election.
Carey, who serves as the economic development director of Arlington Heights, served 12 years in local government and has 20 years' experience in the private sector. She said all of this would help when it comes to serving on the county board.
"I love the policy side of things," she said.
Elman, a public relations representative from Gurnee, ran for the 62nd District state representative seat in March of 2006 but lost to former county board member Sandy Cole. Before that, Elman squared off and lost to former state Rep. Bob Churchill for the same position. Elman was unavailable for comment Monday.
Another county board race that will be on the Feb. 5 ballot is District 1, where three Antioch Democrats -- Peter Grant, Gene Kryczka and Steve Skinner -- are squaring off.
In District 5, incumbent Bonnie Thomson Carter of Ingleside will face longtime enemy Kirk Denz of Wooster Lake.
On the other side of the county, two strong Waukegan Democrats will face off against a political newcomer for the 60th District state House seat.
Incumbent Eddie Washington will face popular Lake County Board member Angelo Kyle and newcomer Tony Elam. All are from Waukegan.
Washington was irate Monday when hearing of Kyle's filing. Kyle also filed Monday to retain his District 12 county board seat. He is so far unopposed in that race.
"I think it's repulsive that in this day and time, with the shortage of resources we have, that someone is trying to double dip and hold two election spots," Washington said.
Kyle, past president of the National Association of Counties, did not return phone calls. Efforts to reach Elam also were unsuccessful.
Both of the county's congressional districts will have primary races. Kenneth Arnold of Gurnee and Steve Greenberg of Long Grove -- both Republicans-- will run to go up against incumbent Melissa Bean in the 8th Congressional District this fall.
In the 10th Congressional District, Democrat Jay Footlik of Buffalo Grove and Democrat Daniel Seals of Wilmette will meet in the primary; the winner will face incumbent Mark Kirk, a Republican from Highland Park.