DeWitte wins another term as St. Charles mayor
The final tallies weren't in, but the writing was on the wall as soon as the first votes trickled in. By the time challenger Jotham Stein called incumbent St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte to concede just before 9 p.m., with only five precincts remaining to report, he was down by about 900 votes with only five precincts. DeWitte's margin of victory only widened from there.
Unofficial results with all 28 precincts reporting saw DeWitte comfortably beat Stein by 1,085 votes.
The race itself was anything but comfortable, as DeWitte battled Stein's accusations that DeWitte created conflicts of interest by mixing his private business with his mayoral duties. DeWitte denied all accusations and welcomed anyone to investigate him.
Stein had also won the hearts of at least two city unions just prior to the election after DeWitte backed a pay freeze to shore up a budget deficit. The endorsements were not enough to win the hearts of the voters. And even with all the animosity, the contest ended in an honorable fashion.
DeWitte, noting he did not receive a phone call of congratulations from his opponent when he first won the seat four years ago, said he hopes future campaigns in the city take a higher ground.
"The results speak for themselves," DeWitte said. "Voters are tired of the smear-driven, negative aspect of campaigning even here in a local municipal race."
DeWitte will now get back to working on the city budget and assuring residents who voted for Stein that they'll continue to have a voice during all future issues the city faces. Unions that have not responded to DeWitte's call to play along with the city's budget plans may not have the same opportunity.
"We are prepared to make the decisions necessary to have a balanced budget," DeWitte said.
Unofficial results for the individual wards showed:
• Ward 1
In a battle between two guys who had few disagreements on the issues, challenger Jon Monken beat incumbent Ron Silkaitis by an unofficial total of a mere 26 votes with all four precincts reporting.
• Ward 2
Incumbent Alderman Cliff Carrignan ran unopposed and was guaranteed victory. With two of five precincts reporting, he had received 465 votes.
• Ward 3
Incumbent William Turner trounced challenger Todd Veyette by 326 votes, according to unofficial totals with all eight precincts reporting. Turner's margin of victory was more than the total votes Veyette received.
• Ward 4
In the closest race of the night, incumbent Jo Krieger unofficially defeated challenger Darlene Riebe by a mere four votes. With all eight precincts reporting, the contest may be destined for a recount.
• Ward 5
In the only ward with three candidates, incumbent David Richards raked in more votes than Mike Luehr and Christopher Nitsch combined with all seven precincts reporting. Richards edged Luehr by 232 votes. Nitsch was a distant third. Richards beat him by 443 votes.
The unofficial results place only one new face on the city council with Monken in Ward 1.