Democrat enters Kendall County Board race

YORKVILLE – The initial hour that the Kendall County Clerk’s Elections Office was open for candidates to file their nominating petitions to run for elective posts constituted a flurry activity as staffers processed the paperwork.

Candidates for county-wide office and the Kendall County Board dominated that first hour on the morning of March 7, but through most of the rest of the week the activity was confined to a steady stream of those seeking that most basic of political offices, the precinct committeeman.

That is, until March 10, when the first Democrat to file for office did so.

Malanda Griffin of Yorkville filed to run for the Kendall County Board in District 1. Her nominating petitions were stamped at 1 p.m., according to documents from the elections office.

That means the winning five candidates from among the six Republicans who have already filed to run for a seat in District 1 will face at least one Democrat in the Nov. 8 general election.

But first comes the June 28 primary election, and candidates have until the end of the day on Monday, March 14 to file those petitions, containing the names of voters who wish to nominate the candidate for offices, in one of the American election system’s most time-honored practices.

For the Democrats, the situation remains unclear. No Democrat has filed for any of the county-wide offices, including sheriff, clerk and treasurer, while Griffin is so far the party’s only candidate in either of the county board’s two districts.

In District 1, County Board member Amy Cesch, a Yorkville Democrat, confirmed that she will not be running for another term. District 2 Democrats Robyn Vickers and Elizabeth Flowers, who had not filed to run as of March 10, could not be reached for comment.

Incumbent GOP Treasurer Jill Ferko is facing a primary challenge from Oswego Village Trustee Kit Kuhrt, while County Clerk Debbie Gillette and Sheriff Dwight Baird, both Republicans, are the only candidates to file for their respective offices from either party.

The Kendall County Board consists of 10 members, five each from two districts. All 10 seats are up for election this year.

Already, six candidates have filed to run in the District 1 Republican primary. They include incumbents Brian DeBolt of Plano, Ruben Rodriguez of Yorkville and Scott Gengler of Yorkville.

Also seeking the Republican Party nomination for a seat on the board are Yorkville Alderman Jason Peterson, Yorkville businessman Tommy Okapal and Millbrook Trustee Seth Wormley.

Republican Judy Gilmour of District 1 in Yorkville is not running for another term on the board.

In County Board District 2, incumbents Dan Koukol of Oswego and Matt Kellogg of Yorkville have filed to run in the Republican primary.

Also seeking the GOP nod in District 2 is former Oswego Village President Brian LeClercq and Kendall County Young Republicans Chairman Gabriella Shanahan of Joliet.

County Board Chairman Scott Gryder, from District 2 in Oswego, is running for the 14th Congressional District seat and is not seeking another term on the board.

Candidates who showed up at the clerk’s office at the start of filing will have their names placed into a March 22 lottery to determine ballot position.

Early voting will get underway May 19. In the primary, voters will determine the Republican and Democratic nominees for the Nov. 8 general election.

The elections office inside the county office building on Fox Street has been enlarged in order to accommodate additional voting machines while providing social distancing.

In the last election, the office had room for four or five of the machines, Gillette said. Now with the larger space, there is expected to be room for up to 20 voting stations.

Voters already have received their new voter registration cards, which should be checked carefully because of legislative redistricting and a change in their polling places for some voters.

There are 84,000 registered voters in Kendall County, Gillette said.

Under a new state law, every county must establish an election day “vote center” in its largest municipality, where any registered voter may go to cast a ballot.

Oswego High School, at 4250 Route 71, Oswego, will be Kendall County’s vote center, Gillette said.

Kendall County now has 78 precincts, served by 39 polling places plus the vote center, Director of Elections Natalie Hisaw said.

Gillette said some voting precincts have been combined, bringing many of the new precincts up to about 1,200 voters.

However, the increase in the number of voters is not expected to cause Election Day delays at polling places, Gillette said, because so many people are now taking advantage of early-voting and vote-by-mail opportunities.

The dividing line that splits the county into west and east portions will remain unchanged, even as state legislative and congressional districts are reapportioned to reflect population changes recorded in the 2020 census.

When the county began reviewing the results of last year’s census, bringing Kendall County to slightly less than 132,000 residents, it was found that the difference in population between the two districts now is 283 people, a margin of less than 1%.

Seeing no reason to reapportion the districts, County Board members approved a plan to leave the existing boundary line in place.

District 1 covers the western side of the county and geographically is the larger of the two.

It includes most of Yorkville and portions of Montgomery and Sandwich, along with Plano, Bristol, Millbrook, Plattville, Newark and Lisbon.

District 2 includes Oswego, Boulder Hill and portions of Yorkville, Montgomery, Aurora, Plainfield, Minooka and Joliet.

Every 10 years, all County Board seats are up for election. After voters render their decisions, the board will draw straws to determine who will serve two-year terms and who will get a four-year stretch.

With the staggered terms of office decided, half the board will be up for election every two years until the next census.

The filing period runs until 5 p.m. March 14 at the Kendall County Office Building, 111 W. Fox St. in Yorkville.