Newcomer Garcia ousts incumbent Durkan in Metropolitan Water Reclamation District race

Political newcomer Marcelino Garcia won one of three Democratic nominations to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board in Tuesday's primary.

Garcia beat out incumbent Martin Durkan, a fellow Chicago resident, by about 1 percentage point, according to unofficial results. He had 127,331 votes, or 20.3 percent, to Durkan's 120,494, about 19.2 percent.

Incumbent Democrats Debra Shore and Kari Steele finished with 32 percent and 29 percent of the vote, respectively, to earn the other Democratic nominations.

Democrat Kimberly Neely Dubuclet of Chicago was unopposed in the primary for an open 2-year seat.

Winners of the Democratic primary election have a strong chance of being elected in the general election. Since at least 2006, only Democrats have been elected to the board.

Republicans R. Cary Capparelli and Shundar Lin are seeking board seats in November, along with Green Party candidates Karen Roothaan, Tammie Felicia Vinson and Christopher Anthony. Rachel Wales is seeking the two-year term as a Green Party candidate.

The agency, which has a nearly $1.2 billion budget and about 2,000 employees, is tasked with wastewater treatment and flood control in the Chicago area.