High school senior drops off Wheeling board ballot

Asher Horcher, the Northwest suburbs' youngest candidate for office on the April ballot, has withdrawn from the race for the Wheeling Village Board, saying she believes it is more important to the village that her father, Pat Horcher, be elected village president.

She believes her candidacy was perceived as hurting his.

The high school senior, who plans to study criminal justice in college, said the decision to leave the race was hers, as was the decision to enter it.

“Right now Wheeling needs a leader who can change something and who will do something good for the community,” she said. “That's my dad, and people would say, 'We don't want a family member running.' It was a hard decision, but overall I think for the town it would be better.”

It is easier for the president to get things done than for a single trustee, she said.

Asher Horcher, who will be 18 on March 4, said she decided to run because she thinks young people should have a say in the rules they will live under.

“We're the future,” she said. “The laws decided right now are going to affect us more. If we have to abide by the rules, shouldn't we be making them?”

Pat Horcher said he hates that his daughter is dropping off the ballot, even though he discouraged her from running in the first place.

“I think it bothers me more than her. I know she would have done easily as good a job as a couple of the characters there (on the village board),” he said.

Pat Horcher is running for village president against Village President Judy Abruscato and Trustee Dean Argiris.

The race for village board now has five candidates running for three seats: Trustees Ken Brady and Bill Hein, plus Mary Krueger, Mary Papantos and Greg Stavros.