Mayoral, school board contests among area's hottest races

Mayoral contests in Dundee Township are shaping up to be among the most heated races Fox Valley voters will decide in April.

Voters will settle mayoral contests in Carpentersville, West Dundee and East Dundee under races set up Monday, the last day for candidates to file for a spot on the spring ballot.

Carpentersville

Carpentersville voters will decide a three-way contest for village president between incumbent Bill Sarto, Trustee Ed Ritter and local businessman Jim Krenz.

Krenz mounted an unsuccessful bid last year for the Republican nomination in the 49th District Illinois House seat.

Trustees Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski and Kay Teeter will seek re-election as they face five challengers: Kenneth Andresen, Kent Baldwin, Joe Haimann, Bradford McFeggan and Patricia Schultz. Three trustee seats are open, including the seat Ritter is vacating.

West Dundee

Longtime West Dundee Mayor Larry Keller will face a challenge from a Michael Elmore, a resident who has spoken out against a Wal-Mart store planned on Huntley Road.

Elmore is among several Wal-Mart opponents challenging village officials in April.

Steve Geati, Lisa Geisler and Julie Voss will join incumbents Pat Hanley and Norm Osth in a race for three open trustee seats. Geati and Geisler are among eight residents suing West Dundee to prevent the proposed Wal-Mart's construction.

Trustee Joseph Motyl will not seek election.

East Dundee

East Dundee voters will choose between three familiar faces when they cast their vote for village president.

Former East Dundee Village President Jerry Bartels will compete against political rivals Dan O'Leary, the current mayor, and Trustee Jim Carlini for the village's top elected post.

Incumbent Trustee Rob Gorman will face five challengers: Patrick Clarke, Kathy Kalish, Lael Miller, and former trustees Paul VanOstenbridge and Howard Schock. Voters will elect three trustees.

Incumbent Kathleen Mahony did not file a petition by Monday's deadline.

Cary

Mayor Steve Lamal, a fixture in Cary village politics since the mid '90s, will not seek another term in April.

Lamal became a village trustee in 1994 and was appointed mayor in 2003 following the resignation of his predecessor. He was elected to the position two years later.

Lamal's likely successor is current Trustee Thomas Kierna, the only candidate to file for the village president's post by Monday's deadline.

Five candidates filed for three open trustee seats, including incumbents Steve Adams, Raymond Chisholm and Duane "Rick" Dudek. They will be challenged by Robert Bragg and Frank O'Laughlin.

Incumbent Clerk Nancy Bragg will seek re-election unopposed.

Hampshire

Police Chief Tom Atchison may be leaving the police force at the end of the week, but he has no plans to ride off into the sunset.

Instead Atchison is among five candidates seeking three seats on the village board in April's election, joining newcomers Douglas Riker and Jerry Shepardson and incumbents Marty Ebert and George Brust. Mayor Jeff Magnussen is unopposed for his re-election bid.

Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow was unable to muster enough candidates for three open trustee seats.

At the close of filing Monday, only two candidates - incumbents Russell Getz and Donald Ziemba - had filed to get on the April ballot, which would force officials to fill the third seat by appointment.

Village President Stephen Pickett and Village Clerk Norine Olson also face uncontested re-election bids.

Fox River Grove

Three people have declared their intent to succeed Fox River Grove Mayor Kay Laube, who died in September: Suzanne Blohm, Robert Nunamaker and Paulette Pelletier.

The race for three trustee seats is all but decided. Newcomer Michael Ireland and incumbents Dennis Bowman and Gerald Menzel are the only three to file for the seats.

Algonquin

Algonquin's elected officials look to coast to victory in April, as all of them are in uncontested races.

Village President John Schmitt, Village Clerk Gerald Kautz and Trustees Brian Dianis, Jerry Glogowski and Robert Smith will all seek re-election.

Huntley

Huntley voters will face a similar situation. Mayor Chuck Sass and Trustees Pam Fender, Paul Mercer and John Piwko are seeking re-election unopposed.

Lake in the Hills

At least one new trustee will be elected this spring in Lake in the Hills, where three trustee seats are open.

Incumbents Stephen Harlfinger and Bob Huckins will face challenges from Denise Barreto, Shelly Forte, Jeffrey Siegel and Joseph Wright.

Mayor Ed Plaza and Village Clerk Denise Wasserman are unopposed in their re-election bids.

South Elgin

In South Elgin, Mayor Jim Hansen and Village Clerk Margo Gray will seek re-election unopposed.

Incumbents Scott Richmond, John Sweet and Bill DiFulvio, along with challenger Patrick Keane, will square off for three trustee seats.

District U-46

With twice as many candidates as open seats, the race for the Elgin Area School District U-46 board of education is shaping up to be one of the hottest in the Fox Valley this spring.

Along with incumbents Joyce Fountain, Dale Spencer and board Vice President Donna Smith, three challengers will vie for the three four-year spots: Kevin Echevarria of Elgin, Gary Percy of Elgin and Ed Stade of Bartlett.

Elgin Community College At Elgin Community College, just three people had filed by late Monday afternoon for two open trustee seats: Donna Schuring-Redmer of West Dundee, longtime automotive professor Rick Green and incumbent Robert Getz of Elgin.

District 301

Central Community Unit School District 301 has four people running for three seats: incumbents Mike Roberts and Steve Doty, both of Elgin, and challengers Jeff Gorman and Angela Matijevic.

District 158

Three new faces will challenge four incumbents for seats on the Huntley Unit District 158 school board. Voters will have to decide which of the candidates will serve a two-year term, and which will serve four-year terms.

Three candidates are seeking the two-year term: incumbents Larry Snow and Mike Skala, and Lake in the Hills parent Paul Troy, who called for Snow's resignation in 2007.

All seven candidates are seeking one of the four four-year terms: Snow, Skala, Troy, board President Shawn Green, board Secretary Kim Skaja, Lake in the Hills parent Don Drzal and Grafton Township Trustee Rob LaPorta.

District 300

Two incumbents on the Community Unit District 300 school board, board Vice President Karen Roeckner and board Secretary Anne Miller, will compete against three challengers: former board member Dave Alessio, Community Finance Committee member Rob Lee and Rutland Township resident Dorota Jordan.

Staff Writers Larissa Chinwah, Harry Hitzeman, Charles Keeshan and Kerry Lester contributed to this report.