Stephens still at helm in Rosemont

The Stephens name will continue to shape the future of Rosemont.

Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly elected Bradley Stephens, the 46-year-old son and successor of longtime leader Donald E. Stephens, as village president in the village's first-ever contested mayoral election.

Challenger Joseph Watrach, 34, a political unknown who owns a valet parking business, proved no match for the Stephens' legacy. Stephens won 988-98 in unofficial tallies.

Two incumbent village trustees, Sharon Pappas and Ralph DiMatteo, were re-elected for four more years, garnering 921 and 915 votes respectively. Newcomer Roger Minale also was elected to a four-year board term with 915 votes. Alan Peterson, with 176 votes, was unsuccessful, according to unofficial vote totals. Running unopposed, Debbie Drehobl was elected village clerk.

The Stephens family is involved in every aspect of the 21/2-square-mile town from public works to police protection, and is one of the most politically connected families in the Chicago suburbs.

Donald E. Stephens was the region's longest-serving mayor, and transformed the town from a patch of garbage dumps and mob hangouts into a convention and entertainment capital. He ruled for five decades without a single challenger until his death in 2007. That's when the younger Stephens, a village trustee for 18 years, took over the reins.

"I feel great," Stephens said Tuesday night. "Our residents, as always, in times like this bonded together, and I think it sent a real clear message. I am happy to be elected the mayor of Rosemont and I'm happy to serve our people."

Stephens said he would like to see the development of vacant land in town, the entertainment district and the proposed outlet mall deal come together.

"We want to do the right thing by our residents," he said. "They are the ones that keep us here."

Watrach, who worked with the village for many years as a subcontractor but lost that business a year ago, said he wanted to rid Rosemont of no-bid contracts and bring more openness to village government. He noted village meetings are not videotaped nor are minutes posted online.

Stephens' argued his village already has an "open-door policy."

And he said he didn't see any problem with no-bid contracts nor does he have an issue with relatives working in village government or profiting from village business.

Leading the town of about 4,000 residents with an operational budget of nearly $150 million comes with a roughly $125,000 salary.

Stephens also will retain his post as Leyden Township supervisor, for which he ran unopposed.