Feud with county board a key issue in DuPage County clerk primary race

Finances and elections are among the top issues in the Democratic primary for DuPage County clerk.

Incumbent Jean Kaczmarek is seeking her third term and is being challenged by Paula Deacon Garcia, a DuPage County Board member.

Deacon Garcia, who also heads the county board’s finance committee, says her front row seat to the ongoing legal battle between Kaczmarek and the county board prompted her to enter the race for county clerk.

“The stakes in the county clerk election are too high to sit back,” the 65-year-old Lisle Democrat said. “She (Kaczmarek) lost a lawsuit against the county and rather than move her office into compliance with the judge’s ruling, she doubled down.”

Kaczmarek and the county board have been locked in a years-long feud over how she runs her office and how bills are paid. Ultimately, the county filed a lawsuit seeking a judge’s order to bring Kaczmarek into compliance. A DuPage County judge sided with the county board twice — once in the county’s lawsuit it brought against Kaczmarek and a second time ruling against Kaczmarek in a lawsuit she brought against the county.

Despite both rulings, Kaczmarek said she plans to appeal, arguing that state law gives her authority over how she runs her office and that the county cannot block bills from being paid or dictate what work must be bid out.

“When I started as county clerk, I slowly began to realize that the internal operations in my office were not being respected as they should have,” the 68-year-old Glen Ellyn Democrat said. “There seems to be a little bit too much interference.”

County board members — including Deacon Garcia — have argued they do not want to get involved in day-to-day operations; they simply want the clerk’s office to follow the same accounting procedures every other county elected official and department head follows.

While Kaczmarek notes that she put her budget on the county clerk’s website for the public to view, Deacon Garcia noted that every other countywide elected office presented a budget to the county board except the county clerk. At the time of budget discussions, county officials also noted that Kaczmarek’s budget was not in the proper format.

“It’s very frustrating that there is no collaboration with us,” Deacon Garcia said, adding the county board serves as a check and balance to ensure taxpayer dollars are being put to the best use.

If elected, Deacon Garcia has pledged to follow county procedures and end the ongoing legal battle with the county board. Kaczmarek has said she plans to appeal recent court rulings.

“There are a lot of counties watching this,” she said of the lawsuit and the need for countywide elected officials to protect the authorities they have, as outlined in state statute. “I do believe it’s important to get an answer, and I believe that I will be vindicated when this is all over.”

During her two terms in office, Kaczmarek worked to revamp election services, including overseeing the merger of the former county election commission with the clerk’s office shortly after she was first elected.

Throughout her tenure, Kaczmarek has also overseen the introduction of new election equipment, doubled the number of early voting sites and became the first Illinois county to offer “vote anywhere” on Election Day.

“I have led the DuPage County Clerk’s Office to become the gold standard for voter access in Illinois, despite having to constantly battle a county board that shamefully underfunds elections,” she said.

She added that her commitment to well-run elections is also one reason she continues to pursue the lawsuit against the county.

“I will continue to fight to keep delivering DuPage voters the best-run elections in the state,” Kaczmarek said. “If that requires taking the board to court, I will not back down.”

She said her efforts throughout the years have helped improve voter access and election integrity.

“I am confident that the election results in DuPage County are reported fairly and accurately,” Kaczmarek said. “I sign my name to it.”

Both said they would oppose federal efforts to access voter information.

Deacon Garcia said she would protect the legacy of the county’s commitment to voter rights and the progress that has been made.

She said she would also work with area schools and organizations to register voters and develop initiatives to improve awareness of the clerk’s functions and elections.

“Preserving the public’s trust and maintaining a strong spirit of transparency in the electoral process is the most effective way to foster trust in the process and ensure our elections are fair and protected,” she said.