Anderson the new Elburn president; board shaken up

Dave Anderson sums up his devotion to Elburn in one word: people.

After Tuesday's election, Anderson will get a chance to serve Elburn's people in a new capacity - as their village president. He beat his opponent Patricia Romke in the president's race by garnering nearly 80 percent of the vote, according to unofficial vote totals.

"It feels great," a happy Anderson said Tuesday night. "It's such an exciting thing. The importance of it really hasn't sunk in yet."

The totals show Anderson getting 666 votes to Romke's 167, with all three precincts reporting. Anderson will replace former Village President James Willey, who decided to step down after 14 years in the post.

The rest of the village board received a shake-up on Tuesday.

According to the unofficial totals, voters chose newcomers Ken Anderson Jr., Jerry Schmidt and Jeffrey Walter to fill the open seats on the village board. The seven-person race included two incumbents, Tom Burgholzer and Jeff Humm.

Ken Anderson garnered the most votes Tuesday, with 394 (15.6 percent). Schmidt was next, with 374 votes (14.8 percent). Walter received 307 votes (12.2 percent).

They'll serve with new Village President Dave Anderson, a life-long resident of Elburn who has been involved in the community in a variety of ways.

He owned and operated The Grocery Store in downtown Elburn for 28 years before retiring in 2006. He is a former village trustee, a former Kaneland school board member and he's served as the Blackberry Township supervisor for 14 years.

What keeps him so active in his hometown?

"That's an easy question. It's the people," he said. "This is just a great place to be."

Anderson cited the construction of the Anderson Road bridge as a huge priority of his going forward.

"There are lots of things we have to do, but that's a big one," he said.

Romke said Tuesday that she has no regrets about the campaign, and she congratulated Anderson on his win. Romke will work with him for the next two years as she completes her term as village trustee.

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I think we'll be able to work well to move our village forward," she said.

Romke agrees with Anderson about the importance of the bridge.

"Development of the downtown train station area is tied to that, and I hope we all sit down and figure out how to get those done," she said. "One of the great things about a town like Elburn is having a quaint downtown area."