Voter backlash, party infighting behind rough night in Kane Co.
Election night served as a vote of no-confidence for some sitting Kane County Board members, and perhaps a warning to a few others who might yet be in jeopardy once the final ballots are counted.
Unofficial election results as of Wednesday saw four current board members lose their seats, and put a scare into Gerald Jones, the board's senior Democrat. Jones won by 13 votes over his District 7 opponent Lorena Cundari. However, there are an unknown number of uncounted absentee ballots from precincts in either Kane County or Aurora. Some candidates on Wednesday fueled speculation that there are as many as 900 uncounted absentee ballots that may still swing the close contests.
Incumbents on both the winning and losing ends said there seemed to be some clear incumbent backlash Tuesday night. The reasons behind the backlash depend on the race.
Jennifer Laesch thought the support of former Kane County Board member Arlene Shoemaker would be enough to carry her to victory over Juan Reyna in District 3. She didn't factor in the prospect of her own party working against her. Laesch said she was aware of work the Aurora Democratic organization did to defeat her. Laesch believes supporters of State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia also undercut her campaign in retribution for Laesch running against Chapa LaVia in the state central committeewoman race for the 14th Congressional District.
"She does not like that we moved into her district," Laesch said of Chapa LaVia. "I don't know why. I don't feel like there's personal history, vendettas. People actively worked against me. Even our own Democratic Party Chairman, Alex Arroyo, put out a robo call against me. Nowhere in our Democratic Party did we ever state that we were going to get behind this candidate or that candidate. I have questions about that when I see him. I think it's unethical."
Other incumbents who fared better speculated the election outcome may have been more of a reflection of voter distaste for county leadership. In that realm, nearly all the candidates Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay actively supported lost. That includes board members Bill Wyatt in District 5, Bob Kudlicki losing to T.R. Smith in District 25.
Deb Allan beat Benjamin Bernal in District 17, but alluded to McConnaughay's support for other candidates in saying she's not a fan of other politicians getting involved with races they supposedly don't have a stake in.
"I don't know if my race was interfered with, but I was able to prevail," Allan said. "I wonder just where the voter backlash is lashing against. Maybe people object to other people interfering in other people's races."
McConnaughay did not attend the county board's Executive Committee meeting Wednesday. Wyatt left council chambers immediately after the meeting, but did issue a written statement about losing to Melisa Taylor.
"My congratulations to my opponent and thanks to the many people who have supported me over the years," Wyatt said. "I will fill out my term with the same passion I have always brought to the job, and leave with my head held high."
Jones said low voter turnout was responsible for his tight race. However, he did acknowledge that incumbent backlash played a role. He plans on examining results by individual precinct to pinpoint why he had to sweat out his race.
Sylvia Leonberger was the other incumbent who went down to defeat. She blamed an unusually low voter turnout of barely 250 votes in her District 1 race as the reason for her defeat to Myrna Molina.