A strong showing in Will County pushed Scott Wehrli to the lead in the Naperville mayoral race.
Unofficial voting results from DuPage and Will County precincts, show Wehrli was winning 53% over fellow front runner Benny White with 45% in their quest to replace Steve Chirico, who is stepping down after eight years as mayor of Naperville.
The third candidate, Tiffany Stephens, has 2% of the vote.
Final vote totals won’t be available until April 18 when mail-in votes postmarked on Election Day or earlier are counted and all the votes canvassed.
Over the last half century, Naperville has grown from a former sundown community of roughly 23,000 in 1970 to the fourth largest city in the state with a multicultural population of 150,000.
The Naperville mayoral election asked voters to choose between a candidate steeped in tradition and two others who represent how the city has become more diverse as it’s grown.
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A Naperville native, Wehrli, 53, is a white businessman whose family is part of the city’s historic fabric.
Not only did he grow up in the city, he graduated from North Central College, owns a business in the Naperville, and works part-time a officer with Naperville Park District police.
White, 59, who has been a Naperville resident for 17 years, is a retired U.S. Army officer and brings with a decade of service on the Naperville City Council and on the Indian Prairie District 204 School Board.
White was the council’s first Black member, and would be the city’s first Black mayor.
The third candidate, Stephens, 51, founded Caring For Children Daycare and Kids Teen Rider, a nonprofit that provides transportation service to kids and teens.
She ran to become the first Black woman elected mayor.