Dec. 02--Most DuPage County Board candidates will breeze through the spring primary elections and on to next November's general race, as just two Republican primary races -- and no Democratic races -- are set to take place.
On the Republican ballot, a total of 17 candidates are running for 12 open seats across DuPage County's six districts. For the March 15 Republican primary, 10 of these seats will be uncontested, allowing candidates for those spots to sail on through the Nov. 8 general election, in which most will face a Democratic opponent.
On the Democratic ballot, nine candidates have filed to run unopposed for county board seats during the Democratic primary.
DuPage County candidates were required to file nominating petitions by Nov. 30, which led to a flood of candidates filing petitions with the DuPage County Election Commission on Monday. As many as eight county board candidates filed on the last possible day.
The first of two Republican primary races will take place in District 2, where four Republican candidates are vying for the opportunity to challenge Democratic incumbent Liz Chaplin in November's race. Chaplin, who was first elected to the county board in 2012, is unchallenged in the Democratic primary.
In the Republican primary, the 2-year term is sought by former Oak Brook Village Trustee Elaine Zannis, who is making her second attempt at winning a seat on the board. She will face off against Elmhurst attorney Richard F. Blass, former Lombard Trustee Zachary Wilson and Anna Manzo, of Oak Brook.
District 2 comprises areas of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Westmont, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Lisle, Woodridge and Naperville.
In District 4, three Republican candidates are running for the open four-year seat currently held by County Board member Karyn Romano, who was appointed to the position and will not run for re-election.
Tim Elliott, a Glen Ellyn village trustee and an attorney representing the College of DuPage, will face Michelle Moore, a Wheaton-based municipal prosecutor who lives in an unincorporated area of the county near Glen Ellyn, and John Allen, of Wheaton.
The winner of the Republican primary will likely face Democrat Khizar Jafri of Wheaton.
District 4 includes parts of Wheaton, Lombard, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream.
There will be one Republican primary race for a seat on the DuPage Forest Preserve Commission. In District 5, incumbent Mary Lou Wehrli of Naperville faces Carl Schultz of Aurora. Schultz, a longtime veteran of the commission, will try and recapture the seat Wehrli won from him in the 2012 primary.
Republican incumbents will likely hold on to the top countywide offices in DuPage County. No challengers filed to run against Robert Berlin for DuPage County state's attorney, Chris Kachiroubas for circuit court clerk, Bob Grogan for auditor, and Richard Jorgensen for coroner during the November general election.
Republican incumbent Fred Bucholz, the county recorder, will likely be challenged by Democrat M. Moon Khan, of Lombard in November.
meltagouri@tribune.com
