Experience rules polls in Dundee Township
Republican voters in Dundee Township picked experienced candidates to represent them in the upcoming consolidated election, overwhelmingly going with incumbents in the party's primary election.
The Republican ticket in the April 7 election will include four candidates seeking re-election, while two others will vie for their first elected position.
Dundee Township Supervisor Sue Harney withstood a fierce campaign waged by Don Rage, but it was low-key candidate Pamela Griffin who ultimately challenged Harney for the post.
The two-term supervisor received 822 votes or more than 52 percent of the ballots cast, according to Kane County Clerk John Cunningham. Griffin and Rage received 427 and 298 votes, respectively.
"The election was a referendum on the direction of the current board," Harney said. "I am pleased that people are supportive of the direction we have taken the township."
Should she be re-elected, Harney said, top priorities include the Jelke Creek Bird Sanctuary and promoting the township's open space.
Harney will take on Democratic challenger Carol Mitchell, of Sleepy Hollow, in the April election.
It was also a tight race for township assessor, with Algonquin resident Michael Bielak edging out Lee Barrett. Bielak's Democratic challenger in April will be Elizabeth Shattuck.
Bielak, a deputy assessor in Milton Township, said he is ready to face a difficult economy that will undoubtedly complicate the assessor's role.
All three current Republican board members - Chuck Behm, David Edwards and Kenneth Schaffer - will get a chance to retain their seats in April. A fourth Republican candidate, JoAnn Fritz, will appear on the ballot, as well as Democrat Paula Lauer, an incumbent from East Dundee, and Democrats Shelley Puckett, Darren Parochelli and Kevin Smith.
"I am thrilled to be a part of a community that is so positive and appreciative of the jewel community that is our open space," Fritz said. "It is refreshing and gratifying to know I live in that type of community.