Newcomers Ian Holzhauer and Paul Leong will be the first Asian Americans on the Naperville City Council based on current vote counts in this week’s election, which also saw one of two incumbents fail in his bid for another term.
While the count remains unofficial until all mail-in and provisional ballots are counted and results certified, Holzhauer and Leong are expected to join incumbent candidate Benny White, the city’s first Black councilman, in bringing more diversity to the council. The fourth council seat is headed to Jennifer Bruzan Taylor.
John Krummen will be leaving the board after two terms.
Four, four-year terms were open, with White and Krummen the only incumbents to seek reelection.
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Unofficial results show Holzhauer and White each with 14% of the 61,947 votes counted and Leong and Taylor with 12%.
Allison Longenbaugh received 11% of the votes counted, and Vasavi Chakka and Krummen each received 10%.
Of the remainder of the candidates, Lucy Chang Evans and Mark Urda each earned 6%, James Haselhorst, 3%, and Vincent Ory, 2%.
Leong, currently a Naperville School District 203 board member, said it’s important for the Asian and Chinese community in Naperville to have a voice in light of recent attacks across the county. “It’s needed at this difficult time,” he said.
Leong, an IT consultant who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility and accountability, said he’s glad to be a part of history, “though it was not the emphasis of my campaign.”
Holzhauer, an attorney whose father emigrated from Germany and mother is from Japan, said he’s proud and yet unsurprised Naperville has elected an increasingly diverse council.
“Growing up in the 1980s, we were what you might call a ‘conspicuous family,’ but felt welcome here,” Holzhauer said. “I feel the best city in America to raise a family is by definition an inclusive city. This council will have the opportunity to unify our community and celebrate its great progress toward equity.”
Holzhauer, who received the most votes of any candidate, said he didn’t pay too much attention to where people fell in the top four.
“However, I think our Believe in Naperville message and our focus on restoring respect in the community really resonated with voters,” he said.
Holzhauer is the former president of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. His brother, James, made headlines when he set several daily earning records on the game show “Jeopardy” and won the Tournament of Champions in 2019.
Kevin Coyne opted not to run for reelection to the council and Judy Brodhead was ineligible to run because she had served three terms.