Maher defeats Forys in Cook County Board Dist. 17 Dem primary
A young, south suburban real estate appraiser has won the Democratic primary for Cook County Board District 17.
Patrick Maher, 38, of Orland Park, handily defeated Park Ridge doctor Victor Forys and Orland Hills Library Board member Donna Sanders in Tuesday's primary election.
With 277 of the 278 precincts reporting, Maher had more than 52 percent of the vote.
Unofficial vote totals early Wednesday gave Maher 12,371 votes, Forys 6,278 and Sanders 5,094.
Maher is now poised to take on the incumbent commissioner, fellow Orland Park resident Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, in the general election Nov. 2.
Maher said he was able to get his message out to all parts of the long, thin district, which stretches from Wheeling and Des Plaines on the north to Orland Park and Tinley Park on the south.
"The (voters) know that I want to help the county out of the mess we're in, and that I have experience doing that," he said, referencing his success in trimming the budget, improving efficiency and rebating taxes to residents in the Orland Fire Protection District, where he is president off the board.
Forys, meanwhile, said he will support Maher in November, and expressed doubt that he'd ever run for office again.
"I've never been interested in public office, I've been interested in public service. Being in politics is very, very hard work," said Forys, who also ran for the special election last year in the 5th Congressional district, to fill Rahm Emanuel's vacated seat.
"We had a hard time getting our message in front of the voters. If I had two minutes to spend with every voter, it'd be a lot closer. But (Maher) is a good guy and I'm going to support him."
Sanders, a member of the library board in her hometown of Orland Hills, did not campaign and did not respond to interview requests.
Meanwhile, the Green Party race was too close to call early Wednesday morning. With 277 of 278 precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals showed Orland Park resident Matthew Ogean had 53 votes and Des Plaines computer operator Richard Dalka had 51 votes.
Votes in the 17th district are heavily weighted to the south. In 2006, more than twice as many votes were cast in the southern end of District 17 than in the northern part.
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