Vitek wins St. Charles mayoral race

As the newly elected mayor of St. Charles, 4th Ward Alderman Lora Vitek said she wants to keep the city moving forward.

“I want to keep us moving forward at the right pace and I think I’m the right person to do that,” Vitek said following her win in Tuesday’s election.

Vitek won the seat Tuesday after defeating 5th Ward Alderman Maureen Lewis. According to unofficial results in Kane County, Vitek received 1,995 votes or 55.4% of the vote, to Lewis’ 1,543 votes, which represented about 43% of the vote. In DuPage County, Vitek picked up another 25 votes and Lewis picked up another 16 votes.

St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina did not run for a third term. Vitek had the backing of Rogina as well as State Senator and former St. Charles mayor Don DeWitte.

Vitek believes those endorsements helped her in the race.

“That speaks to my leadership skills,” she said. “When people work with you and they see that you’re a good team player and a good leader, they want to support you. I do want to carry on what they’ve already started here in St. Charles.”

Vitek has the distinction of serving as only the second female mayor of St. Charles. Sue Klinkhamer was St. Charles’ first female mayor. She served from 1997-2005 after previously being on the St. Charles City Council.

She plans to continue to connect with fellow residents.

“I definitely want to get out and talk to people and make sure they feel engaged,” Vitek said.

One of her immediate priorities is hiring a new city administrator. St. Charles City Administrator Mark Koenen, who was appointed to his post in 2013 after serving as public works director for 23 years, has announced he will retire in May at the end of his contract with the city.

“I have some work to do here now in talking with our staff to determine who is the next right fit for that position,” Vitek said.

Lewis called Vitek to congratulate her.

“I wished her well as she leads this city into the future,” Lewis said. “It was a good race and a good campaign. The election is over and I think now we move forward and all try to come together. I hope we all come together and do the work that’s meaningful to us to make sure that St. Charles is a city that we all call home.”

Lewis, who was first elected to the St. Charles City Council in 2011, chose not to run for reelection in order to run for mayor. Steve Weber, who currently is a member of the Kane County Board, was elected Tuesday to her seat.

“I met wonderful people on the campaign,” Lewis said. “I reconnected with old friends that I hadn’t talked to in years and made great new friends. I’m very happy with how I ran my campaign. I’m very proud of the work that I’ve done for St. Charles on the City Council and I look forward to still being part of what makes this community home for me and my family.”