Plainfield Twp Vote: Write-In For Supervisor, No Contested Races

PLAINFIELD, IL — Voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the Consolidated Election, including Plainfield Township races — where the only candidate on the ballot for supervisor has withdrawn.

A month and a half after he was hit with federal charges accusing him of embezzling $1.4 million from a former employer, Supervisor Tony Fremarek resigned and said he was withdrawing from his re-election bid.

Because he withdrew his candidacy after the Jan. 28 deadline, Fremarek's name still appears on the ballot, according to the Will County Clerk's office. The state's election code notes: "If such a request for withdrawal is received after the date for certification of the candidates for the ballot, then the votes cast for the withdrawn candidate are invalid and shall not be reported by the election authority."

That leaves no candidate on the ballot itself, but there is a write-in candidate: Plainfield resident Al Tinsley, who last month told the Herald-News that Fremarek "did the right thing" by stepping down.

Tinsley also said he is retired from a Fortune 100 company, where he was tasked with turning around underperforming departments and was directly responsible for budgets in excess of $35 million dollars.

On his campaign Facebook page, Tinsley pledges these things for the township:

• Increased government transparency
• Support local small businesses
• Meaningful economic development
• Support of local Law Enforcement

Tinsley told Patch he has been a Plainfield resident since 2004 and previously lived in Downers Grove and Wheaton, serving as a football, baseball and basketball coach in both Plainfield and Downers Grove.

" I am currently part of the coaching staff for varsity football here in Plainfield," he said. "I know the importance of our kids having great role models to help forge them in the heat of battle while preparing them for the real world. Students must learn discipline, how to be caring, develop a work ethic and exhibit mental and physical strength — they are our future."

Tinsley said he started his career as a union employee in 1981 and worked his way into management.

"Most notably as the Quality Assurance Manager I was tasked with successfully turning around under-performing departments for company executives by investigating and assessing process and procedure, writing detailed reports and implementing corrective actions," he told Patch in an email. "As Corporate Security Manager I was responsible for overall security, budgets in excess of $35M, roughly 12,000 plus employees, 72 buildings and reporting centers, and every physical asset spread across 11,400 square miles of territory. "

As for what he'd bring to Plainfield Township, Tinsley said, "The citizens of Plainfield Township deserve moral, ethical and transparent leadership. It is my mission to make that a reality for everyone I represent."

Other township races

Other races in Plainfield Township are unopposed, with the ballot filled by Republicans, mostly incumbents:

• Clerk: Incumbent Michelle Smith
• Assessor: Incumbent Erin Kljaich
• Highway Commissioner: Doug Shreve, with incumbent Ken Marland (appointed 2014) not seeking re-election
• Collector Robert M. Enright, who was appointed to replace Elaine Van Buskirk after her resignation in December
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• For trustee: Incumbents Matthew Starr, Ernest C. Knight and Eric Nelson plus former collector Elaine "Lain" Van Buskirk

But while Starr is on the ballot for trustee, the township website lists him as supervisor. The March 22 board meeting agenda indicates the oath of office was administered to the new interim supervisor

after Fremarek's letter of resignation was accepted.

The polls in Will County open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and will remain so until 7 p.m. You can find your local polling location online.