Union, GOP split the seats in District 220, incumbent Shackleton ousted
Returns from outside the Cook County portion of Barrington Area Unit District 220 show newcomers leading veterans in the race for the school board's four open seats. Leading vote-getters also included candidates backed by the Action PAC and Barrington Township Republicans, early returns show.
Cook County voters put newcomer Erin Chan Ding in the lead late Tuesday.
"I'm so honored by the community support," said Ding, of South Barrington. "I believe all 11 of us ran with hearts that wanted to serve our kids ... As we move forward I hope all the candidates stay involved in the district."
The results from Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties show Ding, who had the Barrington teachers union backing, leading the 11-candidate field with 2,064 votes. All vote totals are unofficial.
"Having to deal with the vicissitudes of the pandemic made the race very emotional at times," she said adding that she is "committed to serving with integrity and an eye toward healing some of the divisions in our community that have come about because of the emotional nature of this race."
As a new board member, Ding anticipates asking a lot of questions while also continuing to listen to concerns and ideas expressed by community members.
"I want to keep up the dialogue," she said. "Ultimately we're here to serve and be accountable to the community. The community needs to feel they are being listened to as stakeholders."
Ding is followed by fellow newcomer Katie Karam with 1,966 votes. Running third is newcomer Steve Wang with 1,953 votes. Both Wang and Karam were endorsed by Action PAC and the Barrington Township Republicans.
Current board vice-president Sandra Ficke-Bradford, who is backed by the teachers union is running fourth with 1,817 votes, early returns show.
In fifth place with 1,810 votes is Malgorzata McGonigal, a third candidate endorsed by the PAC and the Republican organization.
Four candidates are to be elected.
All three of the Action PAC candidates criticized the board for maintaining remote learning last fall.
Cook County indicated 15 of 17 precincts reporting. Returns were delayed several hours and officials offered no explanation for the delays. The Cook County portion of the district is the largest of the four counties.
Kane, Lake and McHenry County returns indicate 100% of precincts reporting.
Lauren Berkowitz Klauer, who also received the teachers union endorsement, has 1,587 votes while incumbent board member Michael Shackleton has 1,524 votes, early results show.
Newcomer Thomas J. Mitoraj, another teacher-backed candidate, has 1,332 votes while former Barrington village trustee Robert Windon has 1,038 votes. William Betz has 625 votes and Jonathan Matta has 580 votes, early results show.
All results are unofficial. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday that arrive at election offices by April 20 will be counted, too, as will provisional ballots.