Democrats appear to have wrested more seats from GOP on Kane County Board
Democrats appeared to have pulled off a power gain on the Kane County Board Tuesday night: With all 24 seats up for election following redistricting and with all precincts reporting, Democrats look to have 15 seats on the county board compared to nine for Republicans.
That's a gain of two seats from the 13 to 11 majority Democrats have had over the last two years - and more evidence that the county's long history of GOP control appears to have waned.
However, mail-in votes are still to be counted over the next two weeks. Historically, and particularly in recent years, Democrats have taken advantage of early and mail-in voting more than Republicans.
That history could play a key role in the final outcome of the District 13 contest between Democratic challenger Mike Linder and GOP incumbent Todd Wallace. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Linder with a 32-vote lead. Keeping or growing that lead would be key for Democrats looking to expand control on the county board.
Meanwhile, in District 23, incumbent Democrat Chris Kious was down by 11 votes to GOP challenger Greg Buck with all precincts reporting. Kious is also the president of the Kane County Forest Preserve District. A loss for Kious would also mean a change in leadership on that taxing body, though Buck would not slide into that role. The forest district members (who are also county board members) vote among themselves to elect a president.
In a contest that wasn't close, but represented a pickup for Democrats, William Tarver beat out incumbent Republican Dave Brown in the District 10 race by 615 votes.
One contest that will bear watching as mail-in votes are counted is in District 22, where incumbent Democrat Vern Tepe led GOP challenger Jeff Meyer by 65 votes at the end of Tuesday night. Tepe said in the campaign he thought he might lose his seat because he was one of the most vocal supporters of a county property tax increase.
Republicans also lost the District 11 seat represented by Republican John Martin, who is retiring. Democrat Leslie Juby will take over, beating Republican rival Brian Jones by 444 votes.
Four of the 24 county board seats were uncontested. Democratic incumbents Myrna Molina, District 1; Anita Lewis, District 3; and Monica Silva, District 7, were not challenged in their reelection bids. Newcomer Gary Daugherty, a Republican, did not face a Democratic challenger in his bid to represent District 9.
District 12 was guaranteed new representation after incumbent Republican Ken Shepro lost his reelection bid to primary challenger Bill Roth. Shepro is the former chairman of the Kane County Republican Party. Roth defeated Democrat Steve Bruesewitz by 803 votes.
Voters elected a new board member to represent District 15 after Republican incumbent Barb Wojnicki lost her bid for reelection in the March primary. Republican David Young defeated Democrat Scott Johansen by 1,453 votes.