A majority of voters in Long Grove strongly supported a slate of local candidates, called the Voice of Long Grove, which built up large leads in a contested race for village board late Tuesday, according to unofficial results in Lake County.
With all eight precincts counted, candidates Anne Kritzmire and Bobbie O’Reilly each captured about 27 percent of the vote, followed by candidate Rita O’Connor who captured 24 percent of the vote, based on the unofficial results Tuesday.
All three candidates ran under the Voice of Long Grove slate with candidate for village president, Bill Jacob, who ran unopposed. And all three captured the highest vote totals, based on the unofficial results, for the three trustee seats up for election this year.
Incumbent trustee John Marshall had nearly 14 percent of the vote, while fist-time candidate Pat Tode gathered about 6 percent, according to unofficial county results.
“I look forward to working hard to benefit Long Grove with the board,” O’Reilly said.
Jacob, O’Connor and Kritzmire did not immediately return calls for comment. Marshall, who ran independently, also did not return calls for comment Tuesday night.
Tode, who also ran independently, said he enjoyed the experience but admitted he stopped actively campaigning during the winter.
He said he had been impressed by the Voice of Long Grove’s organization and strategy, adding how he was not interested in spending the thousands of dollars on campaign materials when the result of the race looked clear.
“I made a conscious decision that I wasn’t going to stand in their way, and to not be a singularity on the board,” Tode said. “I wasn’t going to invest that kind of money into a non-paying job. But it was an interesting lesson in civics.”
Based on the unofficial results, the candidates with Voice of Long Grove likely will control all six of the board’s seats for the next two years.
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In the 2015 election, the newly formed slate included sitting trustee Stan Borys, along with Jacob and Michael Sarlitto — both first-time candidates for trustee at the time. Once Jacob starts as village president, he would be able to appoint the replacement for his trustee seat, officials have said.
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