McHenry County Board District 6 GOP candidates on groundwater issue

Two incumbents and three newcomers are seeking the Republican nomination for two seats from District 6 on the McHenry County Board, the largely rural western half of the county that includes the cities of Harvard and Marengo.

Dan Ryan of Huntley and Mary McCann of Woodstock are seeking re-election, while Richard Draper of Wonder Lake, Diane Evertsen of Harvard and Victor Narusis of Woodstock are also hoping to capture a GOP nod for the fall election.

Ryan, a retiree and former Huntley village board member, would make conservation of farmland and water a top priority if re-elected.

"The county must work to preserve high quality farmland and areas of permeable soils to permit recharging of the aquifers," Ryan wrote in a Daily Herald candidate survey.

Draper, a sales agent, would also focus on groundwater management. In his survey, Draper praised the county's hiring of a water resource manager but said officials need to do more education and enforcement.

"Now the county must educate the public, farms, citizens, community governments and developers of ways to conserve and replenish our groundwater," Draper wrote.

Evertsen, a real estate agent and former Harvard school board member, would also assign a high priority to conservation but would make accountability her chief goal.

"We must stop developing new commissions/committees which include new levels of administration and expenses," Evertsen wrote. "Each becomes a burden on taxpayers at some point."

Narusis, owner of a financial services firm and a former bank executive, would focus on the county's budget and the local economy.

"I do not propose eliminating programs or scaling programs down as a place to start controlling expenses," Narusis wrote. "I ... support reduction in overhead expenses and implementation of efficiencies."