Election: Steve Braser takes big lead in Sycamore mayoral race with unofficial results in

Updated 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 6:

SYCAMORE – Within an hour after polls closed Tuesday night, a current Sycamore alderman is well ahead in the city’s mayoral race.

As of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday with 18 of 19 Sycamore precincts reporting, Sycamore Third Ward Alderman Steve Braser so far is leading in the mayoral race with 81.21% of the vote. Braser is pulling ahead of challenger Adam Benn, who has 18.79% of the vote.

“I just appreciate all of the support that I’ve had,” Braser said Tuesday night.

Braser said his first priority, should he officially win the mayoral race, will be hiring a new city manager after longtime city manager Brian Gregory became DeKalb County administrator starting March 1.

“I’m just looking forward to see what kind of opportunities we will have ... and who applies for the position,” Braser said.

Braser said it’s been more than 15 years since the City had to choose a new manager. He said the last time the City had to appoint a new manager was when Bill Nicklas was manager for Sycamore.

“It’s been a long time,” Braser said. “ ... We need to make sure we make the right choice.”

Braser said the city’s in a good spot so far. He said Acting City Manager Maggie Peck is doing well in the role so far, as are other staff members including recently appointed public works director Matt Anderson.

“Things have really been falling into place,” Braser said. “We just have to keep on making the right decisions.”

Sycamore Ward 2 Alderman

As of about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday with all eight of Sycamore Ward 2 precincts reporting, incumbent Pete Paulsen is leading with 65.24% of the votes, accounting for 137 votes. Challenger Mike Rodriguez had 34.76%, or 73, of the votes.

Doug Johnson, DeKalb County clerk and recorder, said more than 450 outstanding mail-in ballots weren’t returned as of Friday. It’s unclear how many outstanding mail-in ballots remain as of Tuesday.

Ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted if they arrive by 14 days after the election. Results will be certified two weeks after Election Day.

Johnson said there were 310 vote-by-mail ballots cast so far for the current election as of 11 a.m. Friday. He said that’s already a more than 68% increase from 2017, which had a total of 184 vote-by-mail ballots, and a 125% increase from 2019, which had a total of 138.

Johnson said there were 2,045 total early-voting ballots cast for the 2017 consolidated election and 696 total ballots for the 2019 consolidated election.

• This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

• Daily Chronicle reporter Katrina Milton contributed to this story.