HomeIndiaIndia and the worldTwo Indian American Candidates Win Trustee Seats in Chicago-area Elections

Two Indian American Candidates Win Trustee Seats in Chicago-area Elections

Two Indian American Candidates Win Trustee Seats in Chicago-area Elections

Physician Dr. Suresh Reddy wona Trustee seat in Oak Brook, Illinois. (photo provided)

By GIOVANNI ALBANESE Jr./India-West Staff Reporter

Numerous Indian Americans in the Chicago, Illinois, area were seeking public seats in the April 6 election, with some succeeding in their candidacy.

Dr. Suresh Reddy, immediate past president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, was among the candidates vying for a Trustee seat in Oak Brook, Illinois, who won handily.

Reddy along with the other two winners, Laurence “Larry” Herman and James P. Nagle, last accumulated “the three highest unofficial vote totals with 100% of precincts reporting in the election for three four-year terms on the Village Board,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Unofficial vote totals from DuPage County had Herman with 21.60 percent; Nagle, 21.45 percent; Reddy, 19.53 percent; Baar, 15.2 percent; Pruss, 11.34 percent; and Cuevas, 10.89 percent.

Reddy said he decided to run with Herman and Nagle because he believes the three of them can address the most critical issues impacting the village better than anyone else, each with their own unique skills, the Tribune noted.

“As a practicing physician, I will use my training and experiences to ensure that appropriate and effective health policies are approved by the board and implemented by our village staff,” he said. “There are many expert doctors and medical professionals in our community. I will find ways to engage them through informal work groups or more formal committees if needed to ensure the safety of our residents.”

In an eight-candidate race for the Wheatland Township Trustee seats in Naperville, for which there were four, Republican Meghna Bansal was among the winners. Gregory C. Nichols, Colleen M. Rotkis and Kelly Hickey were the other winners.

In Naperville, Vasavi Chakka was running among the 11 candidates hoping to win one of the four City Council seats. Unofficial results have Chakka on the outside looking in, with candidates Paul Leong, Ian Holzhauer, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor and Benny White among the winners.

There were a total of 11 candidates vying for the Indian Prairie District 204 Board of Education, including Supna C. Jain, Saba Haider, Rajesh Narayan and Kader Sakkaria, among others.

After all 77 precincts were tallied, the unofficial results had Laurie Donahue, Susan Taylor-Demming and Allison Fosdick holding a solid lead for the top three spots. The district had four openings, and Jain held an edge of more than 800 votes over the fifth-place Shannon Adcock, claiming the seat, according to unofficial results.

In Batavia, Shaunak Dave was attempting to unseat incumbent Nicholas Cerone for the Ward 6 Alderman seat. Cerone won re-election handily, claiming 72.11 percent of the vote to Dave’s 26.76 percent, 318 votes to 118.

Three seats were up for grabs in the Hoffman Estates village trustees election, with incumbents Karen Mills and Karen Arnet easily willing re-election over the other candidates. The final seat is a toss-up between Renee Robinson and incumbent Michael Gaeta, with the challenger ahead. Gaurav Patel was a distant fifth.

For the McHenry County College 528 trustee of the community college district seat, of which two seats were available, Sumish Parikh finished third in a three-person race, with 19.9 percent. Elizabeth Speros (61.9 percent) and Dale Morton (53.6 percent) won the seats.

Community leader Jitendra Diganvker was hoping to win the Maine Township highway commissioner seat and be a voice for the taxpayers. In a race against Democrat Edward Beauvais, the Republican Diganvker fell short, 57.11 percent to 42.89 percent.

Seeking the Maine Township clerk seat was Smitesh Shah, a Republican. Shah received 42.51 percent of the vote, but was 15 points behind Democrat Peter Gialamas, who won the seat with 57.49 percent.

In Schaumburg Township, four trustee seats were open in the eight-candidate field, which included Republican Nimish Jani. Jani finished fifth with 12.48 percent of the vote, about a half a percentage point behind the top vote-getter Democrat Matthew J. Steward (12.94 percent). Democrat Lauren Satemus (12.9 percent) and Republicans Diane Dunham and Charlotte Kegarise (both 12.7 percent) won the last other seats.

In the Village of Hanover Park, three trustee seats were available. Syed Hussaini was among the five candidates seeking the seats. Hussaini finished second with 21.24 percent of the vote. Bob Prigge (21.94 percent) and Tonya Frosheiser (20.71 percent) won the other seats. Sharmin Shahjahan finished fifth with 16.6 percent.

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