Kunkel unopposed in primary for county board seat

Kane County Board member Bonnie Kunkel has a clear path through the Democratic primary after her opponent, Alexis Cervantes, said she is no longer a candidate for the District 4 seat. But withdrawing from the contest at this late a date might not be that easy.

“I have been sick lately,” Cervantes wrote in an email sent Wednesday. “I am no longer running as a candidate for the Kane County Board.”

Cervantes had already had a bumpy path to the ballot. She fought an attempt to get her booted from the race in December during a challenge to invalidate her petitions. Cervantes successfully fended off that challenge, but showed few signs of active campaigning afterward.

Officials in the Kane County Clerk’s office said it may be too late to get Cervantes’ name wiped from local ballots. The last day to officially withdraw from a county board race was Jan. 18. Absentee ballots have been mailed out that include her name.

Cervantes did not answer a question emailed to her in response to her withdrawal letter asking if she has or will take formal action to get off the ballot. The only path available at this late a date may be a direct appeal to the courts. Any legal mandate to take her name off the ballot would result in an added election expense for Kane County. Election machines would need reprogramming and absentee ballots would have to be reprinted and mailed out again.

It’s unclear what would happen if Cervantes still won her contest with Kunkel, of Aurora, as a result of Cervantes’ name being on the ballot. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Beth Goncher in the November general election.