Why four DuPage towns begin the 2019 election process on Monday
Less than two weeks after the fall election, candidates in four DuPage County towns that are eligible for primaries will be filing nominating petitions Monday for spots on the spring ballot.
Candidates in Aurora, Downers Grove, Naperville and Wheaton will be seeking city council and, in some cases, mayoral seats. Here's what's happening:
Q. Why are these candidates filing so early?
A. Aurora, Downers Grove, Naperville and Wheaton are preparing for possible February primaries in case there's a need to narrow the field before the consolidated general election on April 2.
As a result, candidates in these towns must file their nominating petitions earlier than candidates in other communities where primaries are not an option. Their petitions must be filed between Monday and Nov. 26, excluding weekends and holidays.
Q. Who's up for election?
A. In Naperville, Mayor Steve Chirico's first term as mayor is expiring, and he has said he plans to run for re-election.
Four of eight council seats - those held by Paul Hinterlong, Patty Gustin, Rebecca Boyd-Obarski and Becky Anderson - also are up.
In Wheaton, Mayor Michael Gresk and two at-large council members - Suzanne Fitch and John Prendiville - have terms that expire in May.
Gresk, first elected in 2007, is stepping down after three terms.
Prendiville and Councilman Phil Suess already have announced that they will run to succeed Gresk. That means no incumbent will be running for Prendiville's at-large seat on the council. Fitch has said she intends to seek re-election to her at-large seat.
The Wheaton City Council is composed of six representatives and the mayor. Four council members represent the city's four voting districts, while two members and the mayor are elected at-large.
In Aurora, the city council is made up of 10 ward aldermen and two at-large aldermen. The aldermen who have terms expiring in spring are Kristina "Tina" Bohman in Ward 1; Ted Mesiacos in Ward 3; Carl Franco in Ward 5; Michael Saville in Ward 6; Rick Mervine in Ward 8; and Sherman Jenkins, an at-large alderman.
In Downers Grove, Martin Tully is stepping down after eight years as mayor because the village has term limits.
Meanwhile, three of the village council's six commissioners are up for election: William Waldack, Bill White and Nicole Walus. Commissioners are elected at-large.
Q. What would trigger a primary?
A. If five or more candidates file to appear on the ballot for a given office in Aurora, a February primary must be held to narrow the field to four. If there are four or fewer candidates for a given office, they will move on to compete in the April election without a primary.
In Wheaton, a February primary is needed if more than four mayoral candidates or if more than eight at-large city council member candidates emerge.
In Naperville, a primary will be triggered if more than 16 candidates file for city council or if more than four candidates file to run for mayor.
In Downers Grove, a primary will be held if more than 12 people file for the commissioner positions or more than four people file to run for mayor.
Q. What happens if there is a primary?
A. If there is a primary in any of the towns, it will take place on Feb. 26.
In each case, the idea is to have no more than four people for each available post on the April ballot. So if five people file for mayor in one of these towns, the primary would be designed to knock one person off the ballot. If six people file, the primary would knock two of them off.
Q. Does this include races for other seats?
A. No. The filing period for most of DuPage's municipal seats - as well as seats on school boards, library boards, fire district boards and park district boards - won't happen until next month.
Q. So when is the filing deadline for other towns?
A. Nominating papers for most elected positions on the April 2 ballot will be filed from Dec. 10 through the end of the business day on Dec. 17.