Herrmann holds off Ponio for Island Lake mayor
Island Lake will have a new mayor and two new trustees starting in May - but whether they'll get along better than their predecessors remains to be seen.
Trustee Deborah Herrmann seemed headed to victory over fellow Trustee John Ponio and Sally Fleissner Tuesday in the mayoral race. Incumbent Mayor Tom Hyde did not seek re-election.
As for the village board, incumbent Connie Mascillino and newcomers Donna O'Malley and Laura Rabattini were the likely victors.
With votes in all 11 precincts counted, unofficial totals for the mayor's race showed Herrmann had 467 votes and Ponio had 445 votes. Because she was a write-in candidate, Fleissner's vote totals were not immediately available.
Ponio will remain on the village board; his term expires in two years.
Ponio declined to comment Tuesday night. Neither Herrmann nor Fleissner could be reached for comment.
In the trustee race, Mascillino led the pack with 551 votes, O'Malley had 495 votes and Rabattini had 452 votes.
Among the also-rans, incumbent Don Verciglio had 448 votes, newcomer Dwaine Schaal had 414 votes and first-time candidate Gregory Kachka had 391 votes.
Trustee candidate David Meeks ran a write-in campaign, so his vote totals were not available.
Village business has been marred for years by squabbling among the trustees and between the board and the public. Village leaders have gotten into legal trouble, too, with several officials - including the current mayor, a current trustee and a past mayor - facing criminal charges in unrelated matters.
Ponio ran with Rabattini, Kachka and Schaal as an anti-establishment slate. Herrmann ran as a slate with Mascillino, O'Malley and Verciglio.
O'Malley hopes the trustees will unite and put the animosity behind them.
"I want to believe that we're all good people and can come together to surpass what's been going on in our community," she said.
Island Lake voters also elected a new village clerk Tuesday. Pam Miller, part of the Herrmann slate, beat Mary Jo Martin, a Ponio ally, to win the seat. Miller had 572 votes, the unofficial results showed, while Martin had 543 votes.
Incumbent Clerk Christine Kaczmarek didn't run.