St. Charles Voters To Elect City, School Leaders Tuesday

ST. CHARLES, IL — Election Day is upon us yet again in St. Charles. Polling locations in Kane County will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. If you're in line by 7 p.m., you will be able to vote no matter how long the line is, election officials say.

St. Charles voters will weigh in on a number of contested races Tuesday, including contests for the mayor’s office, seats on the City Council and school board roles.

ST. CHARLES OFFICES

The St. Charles mayoral race leads the ballot for voters in the city, with two aldermen vying to replace outgoing Mayor Raymond Rogina.

The mayoral race pits Maureen Lewis against Lora Vitek. Lewis was appointed in 2010 to represent St. Charles' 5th Ward and was re-elected three times. Vitek was elected in 2017 to represent the city's 4th Ward.

One of the first major acts for the new mayor will be to replace longtime longtime City Administrator Mark Koenen, who is retiring after nearly 40 years of service to St. Charles in various roles.

There are no declared candidates in races for St. Charles city clerk and treasurer.

Unlike in many other cities throughout the region, there are no uncontested races for seats on the St. Charles City Council. Each of the five races features multiple candidates.

Richard Balla Jr. is challenging incumbent Ald. Ronald Silkaitis in Ward 1, while Ryan Bongard is challenging incumbent Arthur Lemke in Ward 2.

Charles Amenta and Paul Lencioni are challenging for an open seat in Ward 3.

Bryan Wirball, Laurel Moad and John Hoscheit are seeking to replace Vitek as one of two aldermen from Ward 4, and Richard Artz, Steve Weber and Kimberly Malay are seeking to replace Lewis in Ward 5.

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP

The "St. Charles Township Citizens" slate has put forward eight candidates for township offices.

Barring successful write-in campaigns, the township's administration will remain the same, with Ronald Johnson as supervisor, Terry Cross as clerk, Diane Hemmingsen as assessor and Steve Frohling as highway commissioner.

Six candidates are running for four seats on the St. Charles Township Board of Trustees.

James Flanigan and William Kevin Bachman are challenging incumbents Todd Wallace, Mary Lynn Swanson, Jeffrey Jerdee and Jerry Swanson, who are running as part of the St. Charles Township Citizens slate.

DISTRICT 303 SCHOOL BOARD

Five candidates are challenging for four seats on the St. Charles District 303 Board of Education: Katherine "Kate" Bell, Jim Stombres, Heidi Fairgrieve, Carolyn Waibel and Edward McNally.

Fairgrieve, Waibel and McNally are incumbents.

PARK AND LIBRARY DISTRICT

Four incumbents are seeking re-election to the St. Charles Park District Board of Commissioners: Brain Charles, Steven Ward, Karrsten Goettel and Bob Carne.

There are five candidates running for three seats on the St. Charles Public Library Board of Trustees: Michael Hill, Mary Kruse, Claudia Frost, Bonnie Dauer and Joseph Gay. Hill and Frost are incumbents.

REGIONAL RACES

Three races for the Kane County Regional Board of School Trustees also appear on St. Charles-area ballots, but only one has a declared candidate. Winfried Cordell Cooper Jr. is running for a six-year term on the board.

Four candidates — Jeffrey Meyer, Donna Redmer, Joyce Fountain and Adriana Barriga-Green — are running for two open seats on the Elgin Community College Board of Trustees. Meyer and Redmer are incumbents.