Republicans, Democrats both face primaries for DuPage County Board
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Patty Gustin's name.
Democrats are preparing to challenge Republicans next fall for control of the DuPage County Board.
Twelve of the 18 county board seats will be up for election in November and Democrats will field candidates for all those 4-year seats in the traditional GOP stronghold.
But before the two sides square off, voters in March must choose their party's nominees. Contested Republican primary races are expected in four of the six county board districts and four of the districts will have Democratic primaries.
The filing period for the March 20 primary ended Monday.
Here's a look at where county board primary races are taking shape:
District 1
Bensenville resident Paul DeMichele and Dino Gavanes of Itasca are seeking the GOP nomination along with two incumbents — Sam Tornatore of Roselle and Paul Fichtner of Elmhurst.
The two primary winners will face Elmhurst Democrats Ashley J. Selmon and Zahra Suratwala next November.
District 1 includes all or portions of Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Itasca, Lombard, Roselle, Villa Park and Wood Dale.
District 2
The only Democrat on the county board — Elizabeth Chaplin of Downers Grove — will have to defeat a primary opponent to move on to the general election. The other Democratic candidates are Arlene Kendorski of Downers Grove and Claire Goldenberg of Lisle.
Both Republicans — incumbent Peter DeCianni and Steve Nero — are running unopposed in the primary.
District 2 includes all or portions of Addison, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Villa Park, Westmont and Woodridge.
District 3
Board member Gary Grasso won't seek re-election so he can run for state attorney general, which means there won't be an entrenched incumbent in the race to fill two seats.
Greg Hart, who was appointed in September to finish the unexpired term of former board member John Curran, is hoping to win election to one of the seats. Joining him in the GOP primary are Downers Grove Mayor Martin Tully, Greg Abbott of Woodridge and Jim Broline of Burr Ridge.
There are three candidates in the Democrats primary, Mehr Qayyum of Burr Ridge, Julie Renehan of Hinsdale and John Basco of Downers Grove.
District 3 includes all or parts of Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Lemont, Naperville, Westmont, Willowbrook and Woodridge.
District 4
Six GOP candidates have emerged to fill two seats.
Incumbent Grant Eckhoff is running for another term, but fellow board member Amy Grant dropped out to seek a state representative seat.
Grant's departure paved the way for Paula McGowen of Glen Ellyn, Ron Almiron of Wheaton, Christopher Zaruba of Wheaton, Elizabeth “Beth” Tatro of Wheaton and Craig Chinchilla of Glen Ellyn to enter the GOP primary.
Almiron and McGowen ran for a board seat in 2014, but lost to Eckhoff during the GOP primary.
Democrats will have a primary to pick their two candidates from among Trevor J. Orsinger of Wheaton, Hadiya Afzal of Glen Ellyn and Mary FitzGerald Ozog of Glen Ellyn.
District 4 includes all or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Lisle, Lombard, Wheaton and Winfield.
District 5
There are no contested primaries for the two available seats, where Republican incumbent Janice Marie Anderson and newcomer Patty Gustin, both of Naperville, and Democrats Sadia Covert of Naperville and Dawn DeSart of Aurora all will run unopposed in the primary.
The district covers all or part of Aurora, Lisle, Naperville, Warrenville and Woodridge.
District 6
Republican incumbents Jim Zay of Carol Stream and Kevin Wiley of West Chicago are hoping to keep their seats. They will face Carol Stream resident Sean McQuade in the GOP primary.
Meanwhile, Sheila Rutledge of Warrenville, Erica Green of Carol Stream and John Maguire of West Chicago will face off in a contested Democratic primary.
District 6 includes all or portions of Aurora, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Naperville, Roselle, St. Charles, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Wheaton and Winfield.