Paluch, incumbents win in Sugar Grove

The only drama in Sugar Grove Tuesday night was which of the four candidates running for the three open seats on the village board would be left without a spot.

Unofficial results indicated that person is Mark Buschbacher.

With all seven precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Buschbacher missing a seat on the village board by 59 votes. Newcomer David Paluch recorded 634 votes, followed by incumbent Kevin Geary with 551 votes and fellow incumbent Mari Johnson with 526 votes.

Neither Paluch, as the leading vote-getter, nor Buschbacher, as the odd-man out, could be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Business recruitment and driving traffic to Sugar Grove were the major themes of the campaign. The related issued of bolstering village income was a common theme in local races during a down economy as local municipalities struggle to stay on budget.

Candidates didn’t disagree on many of the issues during the forums held for the race. Paluch spoke about his support for transition fees on new property development to support local schools and the importance of using volunteerism to create a larger sense of community in Sugar Grove.

Buschbacher spoke frequently about building a full interchange at Rt. 47 and I-88 to create a better travel route to draw commercial business to the village.