Two newcomers elected to Hoffman Estates village board
A pair of newcomers will join an incumbent on the next Hoffman Estates village board.
According to unofficial totals, longtime Trustee Karen Mills will take on a sixth term after taking in 2,782 votes. Mills has served as a trustee since being appointed in 1992 and described herself as “a calming force for the board.”
“I try to look at both sides of a question and that’s what I feel has to be done,” she said in a recent interview. “You need to look at all the sides of it and take as much of an approach as you can to bring everyone together.”
Newcomers Michael Gaeta and Gayle Vandenbergh came in second and third in the race for three seats, with 2,520 votes and 2,387 votes, respectively.
Gaeta has a long career in the food industry and started a homeowners association at Haverford Place, a 55-and-older community on the west end of the village that he moved into eight years ago.
Vandenbergh is a marketing and office operations manager who has been heavily involved in local civic organizations and nonprofits since moving to the area in 1985. She said during her campaign that she thought “new blood” would bring new ideas to the village board.
Incumbent Jackie Green, who was seeking a second term, trailed Vandenbergh by 115 votes, receiving a total of 2,196 votes.
The three seats at stake Tuesday included the two open as a result of Mills’ and Green’s expiring terms as well as that of Trustee Ray Kincaid, who opted to run for mayor instead of seeking re-election. Kincaid lost to incumbent Mayor William McLeod.