Crowded village board races emerging across Northwest suburbs

Contested village board and city council races are taking shape across the Northwest suburbs, with crowded contests already in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows and Des Plaines.

Candidates for April 2 municipal races started filing petition signatures Monday morning and have until the end of the day Monday, Dec. 17.

In Buffalo Grove, six candidates have filed for three available 4-year village board seats, and a seventh may be on the way.

Rachel Hausman Masse, Tim Kobler and Larry Steingold announced they are running "on a platform that prioritizes smart development strategies and public safety that puts the residents of Buffalo Grove first." Masse, a real estate agent; Kobler, a suburban police sergeant; and Steingold, a patent attorney and former zoning board of appeals member, said they would fight against such "wrongheaded" proposals as the Link Crossing development and the development of the Buffalo Grove Golf Course that they say would heighten the risk of flooding, increase neighborhood traffic and eliminate green spaces.

Incumbents David Weidenfeld and Eric Smith are seeking re-election, while newcomer Carolyn Pinta has also filed. Soojae Lee, who last month lost his bid to unseat state Sen. Terry Link, has declared but not yet filed. Longtime Trustee Jeffrey Berman announced last week he wouldn't be running for re-election.

Here's a roundup of who else has filed to run for village boards and city councils so far. All of the seats carry 4-year terms:

Arlington Heights: Incumbents John Scaletta and Robin LaBedz have filed along with zoning board of appeals member Tom Schwingbeck Jr. and attorney and consultant Mary Beth Canty, with four seats available. Trustees Carol Blackwood and Mike Sidor previously announced they won't be running again.

Barrington: A race for three seats has developed with incumbents Jason Lohmeyer and Ryan Julian and newcomers Kate Duncan and Emily Young filing.

Barrington Hills: Incumbents Bryan Croll and Brian Cecola and newcomer Debra Buettner are seeking three open seats.

Bartlett: Incumbents Ray Deyne, Adam Hopkins and Kristina Gabrenya were joined by newcomer Guy Papa in a race for three seats. Gabrenya was appointed last year to fill the trustee vacancy left by the death of her mother, T.L. Arends.

Deer Park: Incumbents James Oakley and David Lemme are the only ones to have filed for three available positions.

Des Plaines: In a bid to regain his old seat, Mark Walsten has filed to run against Ward 6 incumbent Alderman Malcolm Chester, whom Walsten endorsed in 2015 when he had to step down due to voter-imposed term limits. Mark Setzer and Artur Zadrozny will square off in Ward 4. State Rep. Marty Moylan's son Colt Moylan is the lone candidate in Ward 2, and Andrew Goczkowski filed in Ward 8. Incumbents Jack Robinson (Ward 2), Dick Sayad (Ward 4) and Mike Charewicz (Ward 8) must step down this time around due to term limits.

Elk Grove Village: A contested race is on for three seats, with longtime incumbent Trustees Nancy Czarnik and Sam Lissner filing for re-election, along with two candidates who previously announced plans to run: former Police Chief Stephen Schmidt, who retired in 2016 after 41 years, and Scott Saxe, a businessman and member of the village's youth committee. Also filing was resident Jeff Ziemann. Trustee James Petri, the longest-serving elected official in village history at 40 years, announced in September he wouldn't seek another term.

Hanover Park: Incumbents James Kemper, Jon Kunkel and Herb Porter filed for three seats.

Hoffman Estates: During an earlier filing period last month, only incumbents Anna Newell, Gary Pilafas and Gary Stanton submitted signatures to retain their three seats.

Inverness: Incumbents Russell Fitton, Timothy Tiedje and John Willis are seeking re-election to three seats.

Lake Barrington: Incumbents Andrew Burke, James C. Thompson and John Schaller are seeking re-election to three seats.

Mount Prospect: Incumbents Paul Hoefert, Richard Rogers and Colleen Saccotelli and newcomer Yulia Bjekic, a CPA who has been a vocal attendee at village board meetings, are running for three seats.

North Barrington: Six candidates so far are contending for three available seats. Incumbents Lawre Weiner and Janice Sauer are running with plan commission member Greg Rogus as representatives of a new local political party called Focus on North Barrington. Independent candidates are plan commission member Maria Peterson, Jay Murphy and Doug Ramsdale.

Palatine: Filing paperwork are councilmen Scott Lamerand in District 2, Doug Myslinski in District 3 and Kollin Kozlowski in District 5.

Prospect Heights: The only contested aldermanic race to emerge so far pits current City Clerk Wendy Morgan-Adams and recent Chicago Executive Airport board member Betty Cloud in Ward 3. Michelle Cameron has filed in Ward 1. Ward 2 Alderman Larry Rosenthal is instead challenging Mayor Nick Helmer.

Rolling Meadows: Five seats are up in the city's seven wards, and so far there are contested races in two. Ward 3 Alderman Laura Majikes will be challenged by park board President Kevin O'Brien and former police department employee Deborah Banach. The Ward 5 contest will feature Glenn Adams, Jon Bisesi and Joe Szafran. Incumbents Mike Cannon (Ward 1) and Nick Budmats (Ward 2), and newcomer Lara Sanoica (Ward 7) have filed in their wards.

Rosemont: Incumbents Jack Dorgan and Karen Fazio have filed, along with board of public safety Commissioner Steve Price for three seats. Longtime Trustee Jack Hasselberger isn't running.

Schaumburg: During last month's filing for three available positions, those who submitted packets include incumbents George Dunham and Mark Madej, zoning board of appeals member Brian Bieschke and newcomer Scott Felgenhauer. Dhitu Bhagwakar, Leon Mangum and former Schaumburg Township Democratic committeeman Rocco Terranova are running as a slate.

South Barrington: Three incumbents, Hina Patel, Stephen Guranovich and Edgar Alvarado, are seeking three seats.

Streamwood: Incumbents James P. Cecille, Larry Schmidt and Mary F. Thon have filed for three seats.

Wheeling: Incumbents Ray Lang, Joe Vito and Dave Vogel are seeking a return to their seats.

• Daily Herald staff writers Steve Zalusky, Eric Peterson and Bob Susnjara contributed to this report.