White, Gibson, Holzhauer, Syed headed to victory in Naperville City Council race
Incumbents were in a battle Tuesday night in some of DuPage County’s most heated village board and city council races.
Here is a look at the unofficial results for those races.
Naperville
Two incumbents and two challengers appeared to have won in an eight-person race for four seats on the Naperville City Council.
According to unofficial totals from DuPage and Will counties, incumbent Benny White had 13,873 votes, challenger Mary Gibson had 12,775 votes, and incumbent Ian Holzhauer had 12,452 votes.
Challenger Ashfaq Syed appeared to have won the fourth seat with 11,135 votes.
The other candidates in the race were incumbent Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, Nag Jaiswal, and Naperville planning and zoning commissioners Derek McDaniel and Meghna Bansal.
White, a U.S. Army veteran, has been on the city council since 2017 and served previously on the Indian Prairie Unit District 204 school board.
Holzhauer, an attorney, was first elected to the council in 2021. Bruzan Taylor has served on the city council since 2021.
Gibson is board president of the Naperville Park District. Syed is board president of the Naperville Public Library.
All the candidates in the race listed public safety and infrastructure among their top concerns. They also agree the city should not be forced to renew an electricity contract with an agency that has minority ownership stakes in two coal-fired power plants.
Glen Ellyn
In Glen Ellyn, incumbent Kelley Kalinich was on her way to reelection, jumping out early in a four-person race for three available village trustee seats.
Three of the four trustee hopefuls — Kalinich, Sonia Desai Bhagwakar and Stephen Szymanski — ran as part of the Civic Betterment Committee roster of candidates, while a fourth, Robert Margetts, launched an independent campaign.
According to unofficial totals, Kalinich had 2,706 votes, Bhagwakar had 2,562 votes, Szymanski had 2,476 votes and Margetts had 2019 votes.
Kalinich, a retired superintendent and lifelong Glen Ellyn resident, first won her seat four years ago.
Szymanski, who serves on the village’s capital improvements commission and worked for US Steel, believes the volunteer fire department needs new facilities and new training centers.
Bhagwakar, an attorney, said one of her priorities is continued economic development of downtown Glen Ellyn while maintaining its charm.
Margetts, a historic preservation commissioner, wrote in a candidate questionnaire that the replacement of lead pipes should rank as a top priority each and every year until that work is completed.
Wheaton
Two candidates faced off for one 4-year seat representing the North District on the Wheaton City Council.
Incumbent Scott A. Brown was challenged by Syed Hussain, who serves on Wheaton's Historic Commission.
According to unofficial totals, Brown had 1,487 votes, and Hussain had 1,066 votes.
Brown, a city council member since 2021, says that, during his tenure, the council has built fund balances to address flooding issues and to improve the city’s aging sewer and sanitary systems.
Hussain said he would bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to the council. He said he would like to promote growth while retaining what makes Wheaton special.
Elmhurst
There were three contested races for seats on the Elmhurst City Council.
In Ward 2, incumbent Jacob Hill faced a challenge from Kevin Kirby. According to unofficial totals, Hill had 811 votes, and Kirby had 387 votes.
Mike Baker and Bobby Fontana faced off to become one of the two aldermen representing Ward 4. According to unofficial totals, Baker had 933 votes, and Fontana had 519 votes.
A new alderman was chosen to represent Ward 5. The candidates in the race were Daniel Virgil and Adam Park. According to unofficial totals, Virgil had 787 votes, and Park had 545 votes.
Lombard
There were three contested races for village board seats in Lombard.
Incumbent Bob Bachner and newcomer Umar Haque competed to represent District 6 on the Lombard Village Board. According to unofficial totals, Bachner had 779 votes, and Haque had 485 votes.
In District 3, incumbent Bernard Dudek faced a challenge from Shahaab Uddin. According to unofficial totals, Dudek had 601 votes, and Uddin had 533 votes.
In District 4, Derek Cantu and Patrick Egan ran for an unexpired 2-year term. According to unofficial totals, Egan had 905 votes, and Cantu had 357 votes.
Elsewhere
In Lisle, five candidates competed for three seats on the village board. They were incumbent Thomas Duffy, Kristy Grau, Christy McGovern, incumbent Daniel John Grecco and Afaq Syed.
Unofficial results showed Duffy, Grau, and McGovern leading in votes.
In Oak Brook, four candidates competed for three seats on the village board. They were Asif Yusuf, incumbent James P. Nagle, incumbent A. Suresh Reddy and incumbent Melissa Martin.
Unofficial results showed Martin, Reddy, and Nagle leading in votes.