Senak victorious in Glen Ellyn village president race

In a race that pitted a sitting trustee against a former one, Glen Ellyn voters on Tuesday appeared to elect Mark Senak to the village president post.

With all precincts reporting, plus early and mail-in votes, unofficial tallies showed Senak with 2,929 votes, while Ladesic had 1,993.

Senak is poised to succeed first-term incumbent Diane McGinley, who did not seek reelection.

In the middle of his second term on the village board, 59-year-old Senak has been backed by the Civic Betterment Party, a historically dominant force in Glen Ellyn elections.

Ladesic, 59, who previously served three board terms, ran for the village's top seat as an independent.

Development has been a key issue of the race, with Senak calling for a spectrum of affordable housing and "smart development" in his vision for the downtown. The attorney wants to create downtown green space and supports the use of tax incentives to attract developers who will retain the historic character of the area.

A homebuilder who grew up in Glen Ellyn, Ladesic has stressed the importance of respecting the town's historical past while embracing the future. He has been a proponent of diversifying the village's housing stock through rezoning and creating a vehicle underpass in the central business district.