News - DeKalb County

Genoa 2021 mayoral race will be contested as second alderman announces candidacy Monday

Genoa mayoral candidate Jonathon Brust

GENOA – Another Genoa city alderman has announced his intent to run for mayor which means the race in April will be contested.

Fourth Ward Alderman Jonathon Brust, 30, officially announced on Monday his candidacy for the city’s mayoral seat for the April 6 consolidated election. He said he has lived in the city for more than 20 years and running for the seat is something he's been thinking about for a long time.

"I love this city and I feel like it's our opportunity to give back and lead our city into the next four years," Brust said.

The announcement came after Second Ward Alderman Dennis Di Guido announced his mayoral candidacy and current Genoa Mayor Mark Vicary recently confirmed he will not be running for reelection. DeKalb County’s three largest municipalities will have different leadership next year, as Vicary’s confirmation came as current DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith and Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang announced they would both not seek reelection.

Brust said he thinks Vicary has done a great job as the city's mayor and has generated lot of business and interest in town. He said he wanted Vicary to take as long as he thought in the role before being comfortable moving on.

When Vicary announced he would not be seeking another term, Brust said, "it started back up in me for the interest to run again."

Brust said he is hopeful that COVID-19 related restrictions will be lifted by April with a vaccine on the horizon. He said he would continue to look into grant opportunities and other ways to keep businesses surviving and eventually grow and prosper, but his priorities for the city are safety and making sure the City of Genoa is not 'holding anybody back'.

Brust said he agrees with Vicary’s ideas as outlined in letters that the current mayor has sent to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office, which urge the governor to consider protocols like electrostatic spraying to disinfect public places to help businesses remain open and keep the community safe.

"Because the last thing I want for us as a city [is] to be responsible for people losing their livelihoods ... and their homes," Brust said.

Brust graduated from Genoa-Kingston High School and has worked at several businesses within the city. He previously served as a member of the Economic Development Commission before serving as a city alderman for the past six years, according to a Monday news release from Brust's campaign.

“Orange and blue is in my blood,” Brust said in the news release. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead our great city with the support of such great people. We have an incredible City of Genoa staff, wonderful community [and] strong businesses, and I want to help bring a tremendous future to our city where we can grow and prosper together.”

Katie Finlon

Katie Finlon

Katie Finlon covers local government and breaking news for DeKalb County in Illinois. She has covered local government news for Shaw Media since 2018 and has had bylines in Daily Chronicle, Kendall County Record newspapers, Northwest Herald and in public radio over the years.