Taylor ousts Wyatt in Kane District 5
Sugar Grove Trustee Melisa Taylor beat 13-year Kane County Board veteran Bill Wyatt in the race for the sole Republican nomination from District 5.
According to unofficial totals, Taylor netted 851 votes to Wyatt's 562 votes.
During the campaign, Wyatt, a managing partner in an Aurora-based energy firm, focused on fiscal discipline, the need for infrastructure upgrades and making county government more efficient.
Taylor said she wanted to bring a fresh perspective to the county board.
Wyatt and Taylor clashed over video gambling, which the county board has voted to ban in unincorporated areas but may reconsider next month.
Taylor took issue with Wyatt's open support of video gambling, predicting it would be one of the reasons primary voters rejected him.
Wyatt defended his stance, saying it was hypocritical of county officials to support a capital bill while opposing the funding source - video gambling.
The candidates also parted ways over campaign contributions. Wyatt denied there was any connection between his chairmanship of the county's Transportation Committee and the $7,500 he has received from engineering and construction firms.
Taylor said it was unethical for candidates to take money from firms that do business with the county and pledged not to accept such contributions.
<div class="infoBox">
<h1>More Coverage</h1>
<div class="infoBoxContent">
<div class="infoArea">
<h2>Related links</h2>
<ul class="moreWeb">
<li><a href="/news/politics/elections/2010/primary/race/?id=202">More on the race</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>