Competitive races shape up across McHenry County on last day of filing

Voters in several McHenry County-area communities will see competitive races this April while other races won’t even have enough candidates to fill the vacant seats.

Monday was the last day for candidates seeking seats in the April 1 consolidated election to file the paperwork required to appear on the ballot.

In a few instances and barring successful candidate challenges, the city of McHenry, Algonquin-based Community School District 300 and Crystal Lake School District 47 will have competitive races. Several people also filed for the open seats on Johnsburg’s Village Board.

[ Read more: Here are the candidates who have filed so far in McHenry County for 2025 spring election ]

Cary now has two people on the ballot for mayor, and in Hebron, Village President Robert Shelton will face two challengers.

In McHenry, Alderwoman Chris Bassi, 4th Ward, threw her hat in the ring, filing Monday to run against Mayor Wayne Jett. Jett is seeking his third term in office.

“When I was elected last year, I had no aspirations to run for mayor. After 18 months on City Council, not only do I believe this even more, I believe the only way to change course is with new leadership.”

—  McHenry Alderwoman Chris Bassi

Each of McHenry’s three ward seats up this year also have at least two people running. The only race without a challenger is the clerk role, with Trisha Ramel as the sole candidate.

For the Crystal Lake-based District 47 board member race, six candidates filed for the four open seats. Only one incumbent, Debra Barton, filed to retain her spot, with newcomers Lea Grover, Alena Hansen, Devon Hubbard Tessmer, Mike Mueller and Andrew Buckler filing.

Algonquin-based Community School District 300 is seeing a contended race with five candidates pining for three board member seats.

In Johnsburg, six people have filed for the three open Village Board seats. All three incumbents, Beth Foreman, Greg Klemstein and Joshua C. Hagen, filed to retain their seats. The challengers include Steve Dixon, James D. “JD” Sylvanus and Keith Lee Von Allmen. Von Allmen is the former Johnsburg chief of police.

No one filed to run against Village President Ed Hettermann, who said previously this will be his last run.

In McHenry, Bassi, who was elected to the board in spring 2023, said she chose to run for mayor once it became clear Jett would otherwise run unopposed.

“When I was elected last year, I had no aspirations to run for mayor,” Bassi said in an email to the Northwest Herald, adding she wanted to ensure all McHenry neighborhoods get the same attention as its downtown. “After 18 months on City Council, not only do I believe this even more, I believe the only way to change course is with new leadership.”

Jett said he chose to run again to continue focusing on future planning in the city.

“It is not just about businesses, but it is how the future of the city will operate when I am done as mayor,” he said.

When Jett became mayor, he said, his focus was revitalizing the downtown. For him, that included investing in those developments, including The Vixen and others.

“I am not a part of those anymore. But I get people engaged and involved who would never have gotten involved before,” Jett said.

Cary Mayor Mark Kownick, who is running for his fourth term, will compete against former Cary firefighter and Cary Dairy owner Randy Scott. Scott and the village have butted heads over a sign ordinance violation at his ice cream store that resulted in a court order to pay over $5,000 in fines.

Hebron’s challengers facing off against Robert Shelton include another former village president, Frank M. Beatty, and Steven Morris. Shelton, who ran on a platform of shrinking the police department’s size, has been criticized for his involvement in forcing the removal of Juanita Gumble as chief of police in July.

One of the Crystal Lake 47 newcomers, Hansen, said she is running to bring a “fresh voice” to the district.

“As a District 47 graduate, the parent of a District 47 student and a PTA volunteer, I look forward to bringing a fresh voice to the District 47 board,” Hansen said in a news release. “While District 47 has a long reputation of excellence, there is room for improvement. Having worked in education for six years, I was instrumental in creating programs for special education students and families in need.”

Hansen said she supports teachers making competitive wages, an issue that was monumental in the district and teacher union contract negotiations. After a year of negotiating, the district and the union agreed on a contract that includes “new money added to the salary schedule totaling at least 19.5% over the next four years,” according to a District 47 news release.

This is Hubbard Tessmer’s second attempt getting on the District 47 board after running last year to keep a seat she temporarily filled. Hubbard Tessmer said she is not an “agenda person” and simply has a passion for the school system to keep it running as best as possible.

In District 300, incumbents Christine Birkett and Emmanuel Thomas filed along with newcomers Patrick Malia Jr., Alisa “Lisa” Lindmark and William Doran. Doran recently retired from teaching at District 300 after over 30 years there.