Voters in Glen Ellyn, Warrenville will pick new leaders in 2025

One of the longest-serving mayors in DuPage County won’t seek reelection, a village president has stepped down, and another incumbent is running against five challengers.

The candidate filing process ended Monday with a clearer picture of the hottest municipal races. Two people are vying to replace Warrenville Mayor David Brummel, who is bowing out after five terms. In Glen Ellyn, Village President Mark Senak says several factors led to his decision to resign before the end of his term.

Here’s a closer look at those and some other leadership contests:

Glen Ellyn

Current Glen Ellyn Trustee Gary Fasules and James Burket are seeking to become the next village president.

Fasules is part of the Civic Betterment Committee roster of candidates. Burket is running independently.

The race took a turn when Senak resigned days after a town meeting in which voters selected the candidates who would take up the Civic Betterment banner in the spring election. Senak finished as the runner-up behind Fasules. According to the results posted by the committee, Fasules garnered 720 votes, while Senak had 646.

“I did the job that I was elected to do, the residents voted, and they voted for someone else. And that vote should be honored and respected,” Senak said Monday.

He also explained his decision during public comment at a board meeting last week, saying “Life is a lot better on this side of the dais than it is on that side of the dais.”

“Under these circumstances, I felt that the only honorable thing to do was to resign and let the person our residents voted for to begin to do the job now. But I also want to say a big part of my decision to step away was because of the lies that had been told about me during the campaign,” he said.

Trustee Donna Jean Simon was voted in as acting village president at the same meeting.

“I would like to acknowledge all of the trustees that are here. I appreciate their support. We all work together as one team, and we all will work together to provide you with the leadership that you need going forward for the next six months,” she said.

Senak bested a former trustee to win his first term as president in 2021. On Monday, he weighed in on the top issues ahead for Glen Ellyn.

“They have three major expenditures, costs that they’re trying to manage, and they don’t have enough money to pay for all of them,” Senak said, referring to plans for a new downtown train station, lead pipe abatement and aging fire stations.

Warrenville

Brummel has announced that he will not seek a sixth term as the mayor of Warrenville.

“It’s time to give another the opportunity I have been afforded. Of course, I am conflicted. It is hard to relinquish a pursuit that has been a passion for so long,” he said in a statement.

That means for the first time since the early 2000s, Warrenville residents won’t see Brummel’s name on the ballot. Two candidates have filed to run for mayor: Andrew Johnson and Michael Hoffman.

Brummel, meanwhile, has no plans to leave Warrenville.

“After next April, you will still see my wife Mary and I around walking our dogs Conrad and Diesel or on the trails on our tandem bike,” he said. “We both grew up in Warrenville, it is truly our home.”

Bloomingdale

Village President Franco Coladipietro has a clear path to reelection in Bloomingdale. Village Trustees Frank Bucaro, Judi Von Huben and Dan Vitacco also have filed to run next spring. Vitacco was appointed to the board in September.

Glendale Heights

Five challengers have filed to run against Glendale Heights Village President Chodri Ma Khokhar. They are Rebecca Giannelli, Michael Light, James Sullivan, Mike Ontiveroz and Ed Pope.

Lisle

Incumbent Mayor Chris Pecak faces a challenge from Mary Jo Mullen, a current village trustee in Lisle.

Mullen is running on a slate with Tom Duffy, who is seeking to retain his trustee seat; Kristy Grau, a trustee hopeful who is now the village clerk; Christy McGovern, a former trustee who is running for the third available board seat; and village clerk hopeful Edward McQuillan.

Pecak and incumbent Trustee Dan Grecco are part of another slate.

Lisle resident Afaq Syed also filed as an independent candidate for one of the three open trustee seats.

Lombard

Trustee Anthony Puccio is the only candidate for village president in Lombard.

District 1 Trustee Brian LaVaque and District 3 Trustee Bernard Dudek are seeking reelection. In District 4, Derek Cantu wants to fill a vacant seat on the board. In District 6, incumbent Trustee Bob Bachner will face challenger Umar Haque.

Roselle

Mayor David Pileski and incumbent trustees Thomas Piorkowski, Tom Della Penna and Cheryl Lenisa all filed for reelection last week in Roselle. Hiren Patel, who heads the village’s planning and zoning commission, is also seeking election to a village trustee seat.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241118/news/voters-in-glen-ellyn-warrenville-will-pick-new-leaders-in-2025/