2022 primary election: McHenry Township assessor leads in Democratic primary for McHenry County clerk

The current McHenry Township assessor was leading in the Democratic primary race for McHenry County clerk, the winner of which will face incumbent Joe Tirio in the general election in November, unofficial results showed.

The race Tuesday pitted McHenry Township Assessor Mary Mahady against Andrew Georgi, a former Hebron village trustee.

Mahady was leading in the race to be the Democratic nominee for McHenry County clerk as of 11 p.m. Tuesday with 100% precincts fully reported, as well as mail-in-ballots and early voting tallied. The results do not include provisionally cast ballots or late-arriving mail-in ballots.

Mahady had 10,950 votes, or 80%, compared with Georgi’s 2,717, or 20%, according to the incomplete, unofficial results. The results will be final in two weeks after the McHenry County Clerk’s Office canvasses them.

During the campaign, both Mahady and Georgi said they were running to fix previous issues related to how elections were handled.

During Tirio’s time as clerk, problems with election management have included incorrect ballot language and ballot formatting changes that led to an incorrect vote total. Also, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in March that Tirio erred in removing a referendum question from the ballot in November 2020.

Mahady, who is currently in her third term as McHenry Township assessor, has touted her administrative experience, while Georgi cited his 10-year tenure in the Marines, as well as other political positions, as qualifications that made them the right fit for the county clerk position.

Georgi previously ran for county clerk in 2018, ultimately losing to Tirio.

Both candidates also previously told the Northwest Herald that they wanted to improve voter turnout and better prepare and train election judges.

The two other countywide races, aside from county sheriff, did not involve competitive primary races.

Three candidates have filed from three parties to run for county treasurer: Democrat Amin Karim, Republican Donna Kurtz and Libertarian James. S. “Jim” Young.

Kurtz was endorsed by the current treasurer, Glenda Miller, who announced last December that she would not seek reelection after holding the title since 2014.

Meanwhile, Republican incumbent Diana Hartmann is running uncontested for the position of regional superintendent of schools. Hartmann was appointed to the position earlier this year, replacing Leslie Schermerhorn, who was removed from the position last November in a unanimous McHenry County Board decision.