Gripe beats Davoust to become GOP nominee for Kane County District 14

Jonathan Gripe appears to have unseated longtime incumbent Mark Davoust in the race to decide the Republican nominee for the District 14 seat on the Kane County Board.

Gripe received 1,217 votes to Davoust’s 568, a difference of 649 votes according to unofficial results.

“We give thanks to the Lord for his blessings,” Gripe wrote in a text message.

“We are very grateful to our volunteers, to the voters and all those who supported us in this campaign. I am also very thankful for Mark Davost’s many years of dedicated service to the county board and wish him all the best,” according to Gripe’s text.

Davoust is a St. Charles Republican who has served on the county board since 2004.

“Well, this not the way I’d hoped to finish up on the county board, and I’m disappointed obviously,” Davoust said.

“I enjoyed the work very much and still felt like I had a lot to contribute,” he said.

Gripe is a retired financial adviser who serves on several nonprofit boards, including Fox Valley Hands of Hope, Anderson Humane, St. Charles Kiwanis and Lazarus House.