Ken Koehler
The pretty secret jockeying to be Chairman of the McHenry County Board for the next two years will culminate tomorrow morning in Woodstock.
Tina Hill
After the 9 0.clock swearing in, three, perhaps four, perhaps more people will have their names entered into nomination.
Ersel Schuster
“For sure” candidates are incumbent Ken Koehler, Tina Hill and Ersel Schuster.
My prediction is that none will achieve thirteen votes on the first ballot.
You can see my early guesses as to who would vote for whom for Chairman here.
Two new members, Joe Gottemoller (Crystal Lake) and Mike Skala (Huntley), apparently got earfuls of questions about whether they would support the re-election of Koehler and are schemish about voting for him on the first ballot. Earlier, I pegged them as Koehler votes.
Others seem to be pledged to Koehler on the first ballot, but not the second.
Hill seems to have been the most aggressive at courting the votes of the eight new and one “re-tread” member (Yvonne Barnes).
Schuster was late out of the box on this treasurer trove of potential support.
A new rumor surfaced last week.
It suggests that Hill approached former County Republican Party Chairman Al Jourdan for support and, then, he and Sheriff aspirant Andy Zinke began working to bring votes to Hill.
And Sheriff Keith Nygren back in town for Shop with a Cop.
Could those who wish Zinke to replace Nygren be motivated by the wish-fulfillment that should Nygren retire that Hill would nominate Zinke to take Nygren’s place?
There will be those voting for Hill who would not vote to confirm Zinke, so such a nomination would not necessarily be a slam dunk in the game of succession.
My father used to say if a political rumor sounded like it might be true, it probably was.
Whether or not that side arrangement is in play, I believe that Hill will emerge the next Chairman of the McHenry County Board.
If she or Schuster are successful, the winner will be only the third female County Board Chairman (Chairwoman, if you prefer to use a title different from the one Kane County Chairman Karen McConnaughay used) in McHenry County history.
The first was Ann Hughes, who went on to become a State Representative. the second was Dianne Klemm.
If she does, not only will her salary increase a lot, but so will her retirement benefits under IMRF.
I shall wonder again if those on the new Board wishing citizens to be able to vote in a referendum as to whether to elect the 2014 County Board Chairman at-large in April will have as much success as those wishing to hike taxes in April did in November.