No change coming for Kendall County Board District 1 makeup

All three Republican incumbents are moving towards reelection in the three contested seats on the Kendall County Board in District 1, according to unofficial results.

With 78 of 78 precincts counted, Brian DeBolt looks to be the night’s top vote getter with 20.96% of the vote. Scott Gengler followed with 18.58% of the vote, then Seth Wormley with 16.66% of the vote.

Following election night, DeBolt thanked his wife for running communications during the campaign while he was out talking with potential voters.

“I was born and raised here, and I want to make sure my kids and grandkids have a great quality place to live when they grow up,” DeBolt said. “I love working for the people of the county, that’s been my driving force.”

DeBolt said he’s been proud to be part of several ongoing projects like the new bridge on Eldamain Road, which he said was completed under budget using grants so as not to impact local taxpayers. He also highlighted the new county clerk building, located in Yorkville, which also was built with grant funding.

DeBolt also is the president of the Kendall County Forest Preserves. He said the construction of the new Subat Nature Center and the creation of safe pathways connecting forest preserves, helps make the area a desirable place to live.

“I think these are some of the attributes drawing people here,” DeBolt said. “Every project I’m part of is going to be done with quality, not quantity, and it’s going to last for generations to come.”

Reflecting on the race, Gengler said he was happy to see the voter turnout of people standing in lines to cast their ballots.

“I was overwhelmed by the support I received, it’s an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of the county,” Gengler said. “We’re going to continue focusing on infrastructure and expanding broadband. We are going to continue supporting our first responders and our sheriff’s office and making sure we continue to be fiscally responsible.”

Wormley said he was glad all the incumbents have the opportunity to see their longer-term projects through.

“We have a hard working team that really works together to support the needs of Kendall County,” Wormley said. “A lot of projects take time to get put in place, like the future land use map updates and the Kendall County Connect, so it’s nice to have the team still together to continue the progress and success on those things.”

Democrat Jamal Williams, who would have become the county board’s first elected Black member, narrowly missed out on a seat receiving 14.36% of the vote. His fellow Democrats, Zachary Turnbow received 12.03% of the vote and Benjamin Schmidt received 11.9% of the vote.

Williams said after the election that he was blessed to have the opportunity to run and thanked all of his supporters.

“There’s work to do for our party, we need to go back to the chalkboard and retool ourselves to better connect with voters,” Williams said. “The board is used to doing business the same way for years. There is a sense by the people that the benefits are not shared equally. The board should allow everyone’s voice to be heard. With the county growing, with more people there’s better ideas. I ran a platform of building a future together. I hope the board takes that into consideration in thinking about everyone in the county who needs to be supported.”

Williams said for Democrats to succeed in the future they need to help change the culture of the community.

“You see a lot of campaign signs of one particular party and not much of another,” Williams said. “There’s missed opportunities with business owners wanting to be part of the process, but fearful of retaliation. That’s unfair. There’s a lot of people who are uncomfortable speaking up. We need to be cognizant of those individuals and make sure they’re represented.”

Turnbow said he was proud of the campaign the Democrats ran and that it’s important to respect the voters’ decision.

“I wish the best to the candidates who won, and our party will go forward looking into the future head on,” Turnbow said. “We’ve shown the county is changing as a whole. Previous years have not been as successful for our party. Our campaign helped push the needle in a different direction. As the county grows, we’ll continue seeing that change.”

Schmidt also said he feels the future is bright for Democrats in Kendall County.

“I’m disappointed, of course, but sometimes it’s the fight that counts,” Schmidt said. “It’s good to have both parties spreading their ideas, it helps push both parties forward. Hopefully the board will be digging heavily into infrastructure and looking more forward than they have in the past.”

Todd Milliron, running as the candidate for the Kendall County Party, received 5.51% of the vote. He was happy both he and his party’s candidate for circuit clerk, Bob Allen, received more than 5% of the vote enabling the Kendall County Party to continue being an official established party.

“The board is wanting to raise taxes more than 5% and I think that’s unwarranted,” Milliron said. “We should live within our budget. Our property taxes are high enough around here.”