Long wait, but winners emerge in Lake County Board races

After waiting hours for election results, candidates for Lake County Board seats finally learned of their respective victories and defeats late Tuesday -- if they hadn't already gone to sleep.

Computers in the Lake County Government Center in Waukegan failed to read results after the election and totals had to be hand-delivered, causing significant delays.

Lake County Board, Dist. 16

Voters boosted their incumbent by the slimmest of margins and an experienced campaigner forward Tuesday in the race for the Lake County Board's District 16 spot.

With all 23 precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals showed incumbent Robert E. "Bob" Powers, 63, led Jeanne Goshgarian, 61, by just five votes -- 620 to 615 -- for the chance to represent the GOP in November. Unofficially, the two statistically tied at nearly 50 percent each.

Goshgarian, a Round Lake resident, said the contest was "an amazing race."

"It was a very hard-fought campaign," she said. "It was a very clean campaign."

In the campaign, Powers, a Round Lake Beach resident, had touted his experience on the board.

Powers was unavailable for comment late Tuesday night after all precincts reported, but had previously said he was confident his experience in the district would push him over the edge.

"I work with a lot of the people with the Round Lake area," Powers said. "I'm involved a lot in the community."

In the Democrats' corner, Terry Wilke, 42, used his experience on several local campaigns to defeat Douglas Raul Williams, 47.

Wilke, a Round Lake Beach resident, was unavailable for comment late Tuesday night when all precincts had reported, but previously said he hoped his emphasis on traffic and taxes would resonate with voters.

"It's not rocket science," Wilke said of the county's traffic concerns. "It's not really that tough to make what we have now working better, and we have to."

With all 23 precincts reporting, unofficial totals showed Wilke with 1,292 votes and Williams with 1,095.

Williams, a Hainesville resident, had suggested at the start of the race the county should look at a temporary cap on property tax assessments to help residents weather the recent economic storm.

After the election, Williams blamed a last-minute mailer that accused him of being in favor of drivers licenses for illegal immigrants for pushing his competitor to victory.

"I really never saw much campaigning (by Wilke)," Williams said. "It's kind of difficult to lose something on a last-minute mailing and especially a negative one."

District 16 includes all or parts of Round Lake Beach, Round Lake, Hainesville and Round Lake Heights.

Lake County Board District 5

Incumbent Bonnie Thomson Carter said her positive campaign is what led to her victory Tuesday night.

With ballots in all 29 precincts counted in the often-heated GOP primary race, unofficial results showed Carter, 52, of Ingleside took in 2,453 votes. The challenger, Kirk Denz, 39, also of Ingleside, collected 1,188 votes.

All totals recorded late Tuesday are unofficial until the votes are canvassed.

Carter said the key to the victory was a positive campaign on the issues, and that people believe in what she's doing.

"I'm looking forward to the next four years," she said. "I'm really excited because people agree with what we have been doing for the last 12 years. I think they trust me and want to continue to work with me as their Lake County Board candidate."

District 5 encompasses portions of Fox Lake, Ingleside, Round Lake, Volo, Lakemoor and Wauconda.

Denz and Carter have been political opponents prior to Tuesday. The two are on opposite sides of the battle over use of Wooster Lake.

Denz believes Carter used underhanded tactics to have the lake declared no-wake, while Carter said she represented the majority of residents in getting boats to drive at under 5 miles an hour.

Denz didn't answer his phone late Tuesday after results came in and didn't comment on the record.

Lake County Board, District 1

An Antioch truck driver vowing to improve county roads was elected Tuesday in the Democratic primary.

Peter Grant, 55, cleared the first hurdle and now will face Republican Linda Pedersen in November. Pedersen was hand-picked by longtime board member Judy Martini, who is not seeking re-election.

"I can't tell you how good this feels," Grant said. "It was a squeaker too. I credit all the hard work and all the help I got from everybody. We did the dirty work on the streets and were out getting one vote at a time."

With ballots in all 29 precincts counted, preliminary results showed 1,294 voters chose Grant. Steve Skinner, 48, received 1,239 votes, while Gene Kryczka, 36, got 845 votes.

Grant said he is will relish in his victory for the next couple of days and then plan his strategy against Petersen.

Skinner and Kryczka could not be reached for comment after the votes were totaled.

Earlier in the evening, Kryczka said he was proud of all three candidates for running positive campaigns. He said the district was given three strong people to chose from and he would support the Democrat nominee in November.

Skinner said earlier he hoped voters went to the polls knowing he had heard their concerns and would work to make changes if elected.

During the campaign, the candidates debated twice, the first drew an audience of about 30, while the second was sparsely attended by less than 10 people.

The economy was a major issue for the three candidates. Grant cited road improvements, particularly along the Route 173 corridor, as the key to luring businesses to Lake County.

Skinner and Kryczka said in order for the economy to improve, the change had to start at the county level. Skinner proposed a reduction in spending, including selling county-run golf courses. Kryczka took an opposite approach, saying more money should be spent on personnel and services at the county level.

District 1, represents Antioch and portions of Fox Lake, Spring Grove, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst and Old Mill Creek.

Lake County Board, District 2

Democrats chose Diane Hewitt in Tuesday's primary to be their standard bearer in the fall election.

With all 28 precincts reporting, unofficial totals showed Hewitt defeated Mark Stricklin by 2,322 to 1,388.

In November, Hewitt will face incumbent board member Randall Whitmore, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Both Democratic candidates said taxes and traffic congestion were their primary concerns.

Hewitt, a switchboard operator for the city of Waukegan who ran unsuccessfully for the district board seat in 2006, said she wanted county government to cut spending as a way to control tax increases.

Stricklin, the Waukegan Township Highway supervisor, said the county should adopt the state's 7 percent cap on property tax increases to provide relief for homeowners.

Hewitt said traffic congestion could best be addressed by the county working more closely with municipalities to coordinate the timing of traffic signals to make for more efficient traffic flow.

Stricklin said he wanted the process of determining highway improvement projects revamped to allow smaller communities get projects completed at a faster rate.

Hewitt said she advocated opening more Lake County Forest Preserve District sites to public use, while Stricklin said he believed open space should be preserved.

Stricklin advocated selling all the forest preserve district-owned golf courses because he believed it was unfair for government to compete with private enterprise. Hewitt said she wanted to judge the viability of each golf course on an individual basis.