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Homer Glen mayoral candidate Christina Neitzke-Troike said Wednesday she “still can’t believe it’s real” that she is projected winner in the race.
“I feel like the residents of Homer Glen are tired of a lot of the negativity of what was happening. I can’t wait to hit the ground running to bring civility back to the village,” Neitzke-Troike said.
Neitzke-Troike and her slate of candidates had a significant lead in all races, according to preliminary and unofficial results from the Will County clerk’s office. Neitzke-Troike had 64.77% of the vote over Trustee Rose Reynders at 35.23% in the mayoral race.
Neitzke-Troike is the first woman to be elected mayor since the village was established in 2001.
“Someone said it last night and I was like, ‘wow, that does have a nice ring to it.’ But that’s not as important to me as winning itself,” Neitzke-Troike said.
As mayor, Neitzke-Troike said her first goal is to restore civility among the board. Considering the preliminary results, Neitzke-Troike said the board will shift from two trustees being “silenced” and four trustees who “ruled the roost” to a more balanced board with a three to three split.
Trustee candidates Curtis Mason, Susanna Steilen and Craig McNaughton, who were members of the Integrity for Homer Glen slate led by Neitzke-Troike, were the projected winners of Tuesday’s election, which means they will likely join Reynders, Jennifer Consolino and Dan Fialko on the board.
“I’d like to sit down with the current board members and workout our differences so we can move forward with integrity,” Neitzke-Troike said. “I’m hopeful that all six board members will work together for the betterment of the community. I’m hoping that I never have to break a tie. I’m hoping the trustees will work together.”
Reynders ran as an independent candidate, but supported the Homer Forward slate, which included Yvonne Chentnik for village clerk and incumbent Ruben Pazmino, Christina Clausen and Jay Roti for trustee. Pazmino, a trustee since 2019, was the only incumbent seeking reelection.
Preliminary results showed Candice Buelski, backed by the Integrity for Homer Glen slate, with 64.64% of the vote for clerk over Chentnik with about 35% of the vote.
In village trustee races, Mason, McNaughton and Steilen all had about 19.5% of the vote, ahead of Clausen with 14.5%, Pazmino at 13.6% and Roti at 12.4%.
Neitzke-Troike said she was sad to see Pazmino lose his reelection bid and she hopes he stays involved in the community. She said she looks forward to working alongside Reynders, who will remain on the Village Board for the next two years.
As mayor, Neitzke-Troike said she also wants to connect with residents to make sure they are engaged in what is happening. Neitzke-Troike said she’s heard from residents who say they are concerned with increases on their water bill, so she’d like to work on that issue.
“I want to reach out to the residents … and just get them involved more. There’s got to be more communication with the residents,” she said.
The Homer Township Library Board incumbents Cynthia Bochenek, Clare Lund, Jane Klunk and Rita Woods held a lead over the slate that ran against them.
We The Parents Illinois, a group that states it stands for fiscal responsibility, restoring high academic standards, providing safe learning environments and protecting the classroom from “woke” and political ideology, endorsed John Walters, Breanna Roti, Stephen Balich and Tony Drabik.
In the race for White Oak Library Board, incumbents Ann Lopez-Caneva and Nancy Hackett were in the lead over their We The Parents Illinois challengers Selina Boersma and Patricia Colella. Hackett received 32.3% of the vote and Lopez-Caneva received 28.1%, according to unofficial results, while Boersma received 16.6% of the vote and Colella received 22.9% of the vote.
Bochenek had 15.4% of the vote, Lund 14.3%, Klunk 14.5% and Woods 14.9%, according to preliminary vote totals.
Walters had 10.3% of the vote, Roti had 10.7%, Balich 9.9% and Drabik had 9.9%, according to preliminary vote totals.
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Linsey Sowa, the former township clerk, said she voted for Neitzke-Troike because they ran together in 2009 and it was a “pleasure to support her and her slate of candidates.”
Peter Garetto, a Homer Glen resident, said he voted for Neitzke-Troike because he’s looking for “something different.”
“She stands for the values that are Homer Glen values,” Garetto said.
Katie Christensen, a Lockport resident, said she came to vote to ensure she voted against the We The Parents Illinois candidates running for Homer Township Library Board.
“I heard some rough stuff about some candidates wanting to ban books, so I had to make sure I did my democratic duty,” Christensen said.
We The Parents Illinois candidates have stated they don’t support banning books but would like to see books put in age-appropriate sections.