Election 2015: Who Won Lottery for Top Spot on School Board Ballot
It’s not MegaMillions or Powerball or even Pick 3, but there were some lottery winners today (Friday, Dec. 19) at the Kane County Clerk’s Office in Geneva.
That’s because, starting shortly after 10 a.m., Kane County Director of Elections Suzanne Fahnestock started pulling number out of a bucket that determined some of the top positions on the ballot for April school board races in five Kane County school districts.
Want to find out who they are? Keep reading or scroll down this page while we explain some of the backstory.
School board candidates filed at the Kane County Clerk’s Office for the first time this year. In the past, they gathered at the office of their individual school districts.
The filing period opened Monday, Dec. 15, and goes through 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22 — so it’s possible and even likely we’ll see more candidates file between now and Monday.
This morning’s lottery took place to determine April 5 ballot positions for all the candidates who showed up when the doors opened on Monday, Dec. 15. The rest of the ballot positions are determined by the order in which the candidates filed.
If more than one candidate in each race files in the final hour (between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22), there will be a second lottery, at a time to be named later, to determine who will be last on the ballot.
Why is any of this important? Primarily because the first name on the ballot tends to garner the most votes statistically. The second and third spots are pretty primo, too, and the last spot on the ballot is coveted, as well.
You can read more about the phenomenon in an interesting article on the University of Virginia Center for Politics website titled, “WHO’S ON FIRST? Does the Ballot Order of Candidates Make a Difference?“
Anyway, and without further ado, here’s the UNOFFICIAL STARTING order of candidates on the ballot for six Kane County School Districts. Keep in mind that other candidates’ names could be added.
Kaneland School District 302
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for FOUR)
- Tony F. Valente
- Dan Nagel
- Jerry Elliott
- Ryan Kerry
- Peter Lopatin
- Gale E. Pavlak
- Teresa Witt
- Pamela Voorhees
St. Charles School District 303
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for THREE)
- Kathleen T. Hewell
- Rick Leidig
- Lowell Yarusso
Geneva School District 304
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for THREE)
- Kelly B. Nowak
- Taylor R. Egan
- Mary Stith
- Evelyn Schneider
- Michael T. McCormick
Elgin School District U-46
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for FOUR)
- Cody Holt
- Phil A. Costello
- Lawrence “Larry” Bury
- Jeanette Ward
- Jennifer Shroder
- Arisleyda Taylor
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE AN UNEXPIRED 2-YEAR TERM
(Vote for ONE)
- No candidates as of Friday morning, Dec. 19
Batavia School District 101
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for THREE)
- Melanie K. Impastato
- Michelle Olache
- Cathy Dremel
- Ron Rechenmacher
- William “Bill” Gabriel
- John D. Dryden
- Christopher A. Lowe
- Ellen Knautz
Community School District 300
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for FOUR)
- Steve Fiorentino
- Joe Stevens
Central School District 301
FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SERVE A FULL 4-YEAR TERM
(Vote for FOUR)
- Mitchell Penar
- Laura W. Rabe
- Janet Marlovits
- Jeff Gorman
Kane County Regional Office Of Education
FOR REGIONAL BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
(Vote for TWO)
- No candidates as of Friday morning, Dec. 19
For the official information, Kane County Clerk’s Office website is a great resource to find out who has filed, so far. The page is updated each day, so you can keep track of who is filing in the school district in your neck of the woods.
And, just as a reminder, there are two election commissions in Kane County. The Clerk’s Office and the Aurora Election Commission. School board candidates for East Aurora School District 131 and West Aurora School District 129 must file at the Aurora Election Commission.
