McHenry County Blog

In the biggest primary margin I noticed in Tuesday’s Republican primary election, incumbent Nunda Township Assessor Dennis Jagla beat back a challenge by appointed Alden Township Assessor Alan Weaver by almost a two to one margin.

Jagla, a member of “Team Nunda,” received 550 (pre-early voting and pre-absentee ballot) votes to Weaver’s 292.

Weaver was criticized for a pamphlet sent to past Democratic Party primary voters by Nunda Township Democratic Party township trustee candidate Patrick Murfin.

In Nunda Township, the challenger for township assessor is Alan Weaver. He is running against incumbent Dennis Jagla. Weaver is now the appointed assessor in the much smaller Alden Township between Harvard and Hebron.

Democratic Party candidate for Nunda Township Trustee Patrick Murfin has taken offense to a mailing whose most prominent visual is a red, white and blue donkey.

Murfin has written the following on his web site:

“I came home from work and was mystified to find a slick postcard mailing (click to enlarge) splashed with Democratic blue and featuring prominent donkey logos promoting Alan Weaver for Nunda Township Assessor.

“I went to his campaign web site and confirmed that he is running in the Republican primary.

“My guess is that this was a special targeted mailing to Dems to get us to vote in the Republican primary under the theory that anyone opposed to the incumbents are our allies. It does mean that he is pretty well financed for a Township campaign if he can afford to print and send a special mailing to Democrats.
“I am not sure if he will succeed in attracting any votes.

“I think his message is confusing.

“And as a real Democratic candidate for office in Nunda Township, I certainly won’t be voting in a Republican primary or encouraging anyone else to do so.”

Democrats in Nunda Township, of course, decided not to hold a primary election to select their candidates. They held a party caucus on one of the coldest nights of the year.

That means the only candidates on the ballot on February 24 in Nunda Township are Republicans.

The same situation exists in Algonquin, Dorr and Grafton Townships.

People who don’t consider themselves Republicans can vote in the GOP primary in those four townships. They will have to sign a piece of paper saying they are a Republican, but Illinois does not have a closed primary. People can switch back and forth anytime they want to.

But, back to what Weaver has done.

I asked him for a comment and here it is:

“As you know, the number of people who vote in primaries is small. I mailed postcards to everyone who has voted in a primary in the past based on the records from the County Clerks office.”

I inquired further and got this reply:

“I mailed two separate cards for a simple reason.

“Even though one party did not field a candidate, there is still a choice in the election.

“ALL the voters need to be able to have a choice and decide for themselves who is the better choice for them, even if the choices are from the same party.

“If the voters decide not to particpate in the election process, that is their choice. They also cannot complain when they have not exercised their right to make a change.”

Can’t you see a comparison piece from the incumbent using the donkey symbol that Weaver has used in the piece above?

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If you get mailings during the campaign, I would appreciate your mailing them to me or scanning them and emailing them to me.

In Nunda Township, the challenger for township assessor is Alan Weaver. He is running against incumbent Dennis Jagla. Weaver is now the appointed assessor in the much smaller Alden Township between Harvard and Hebron.

Democratic Party candidate for Nunda Township Trustee Patrick Murfin has taken offense to a mailing whose most prominent visual is a red, white and blue donkey.

Murfin has written the following on his web site:

“I came home from work and was mystified to find a slick postcard mailing (click to enlarge) splashed with Democratic blue and featuring prominent donkey logos promoting Alan Weaver for Nunda Township Assessor.

“I went to his campaign web site and confirmed that he is running in the Republican primary.

“My guess is that this was a special targeted mailing to Dems to get us to vote in the Republican primary under the theory that anyone opposed to the incumbents are our allies. It does mean that he is pretty well financed for a Township campaign if he can afford to print and send a special mailing to Democrats.
“I am not sure if he will succeed in attracting any votes.

“I think his message is confusing.

“And as a real Democratic candidate for office in Nunda Township, I certainly won’t be voting in a Republican primary or encouraging anyone else to do so.”

Democrats in Nunda Township, of course, decided not to hold a primary election to select their candidates. They held a party caucus on one of the coldest nights of the year.

That means the only candidates on the ballot on February 24 in Nunda Township are Republicans.

The same situation exists in Algonquin, Dorr and Grafton Townships.

People who don’t consider themselves Republicans can vote in the GOP primary in those four townships. They will have to sign a piece of paper saying they are a Republican, but Illinois does not have a closed primary. People can switch back and forth anytime they want to.

But, back to what Weaver has done.

I asked him for a comment and here it is:

“As you know, the number of people who vote in primaries is small. I mailed postcards to everyone who has voted in a primary in the past based on the records from the County Clerks office.”

I inquired further and got this reply:

“I mailed two separate cards for a simple reason.

“Even though one party did not field a candidate, there is still a choice in the election.

“ALL the voters need to be able to have a choice and decide for themselves who is the better choice for them, even if the choices are from the same party.

“If the voters decide not to particpate in the election process, that is their choice. They also cannot complain when they have not exercised their right to make a change.”

Can’t you see a comparison piece from the incumbent using the donkey symbol that Weaver has used in the piece above?

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If you get mailings during the campaign, I would appreciate your mailing them to me or scanning them and emailing them to me.

They don’t get paid a lot, but township trustee is considered a step on the political ladder.

When Nunda Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano made the random selection. Here is what happened:

1. Thomas Palmer, an incumbent
2. Joni Smith, a challenger
3. James Schlader, an incumbent who ran for county board in the GOP primary election
4. Richard “Dick” Meyers, just appointed to take the place of Walt Romanus, who died, and a former township clerk and McHenry County Board member
5. Lee Jennings, who sought the appointment Meyers received
6. Kevin Sarnwick, an incumbent

Four will be elected.

No other contests exist, except for township assessor.

There incumbent Dennis Jagla will appear first will face off in the Republican Party primary election against challenger Alan Weaver, who serves as appointed assessor in Alden Township. Weaver ran as an independent last time around.

They don’t get paid a lot, but township trustee is considered a step on the political ladder.

When Nunda Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano made the random selection. Here is what happened:

1. Thomas Palmer, an incumbent
2. Joni Smith, a challenger
3. James Schlader, an incumbent who ran for county board in the GOP primary election
4. Richard “Dick” Meyers, just appointed to take the place of Walt Romanus, who died, and a former township clerk and McHenry County Board member
5. Lee Jennings, who sought the appointment Meyers received
6. Kevin Sarnwick, an incumbent

Four will be elected.

No other contests exist, except for township assessor.

There incumbent Dennis Jagla will appear first will face off in the Republican Party primary election against challenger Alan Weaver, who serves as appointed assessor in Alden Township. Weaver ran as an independent last time around.

The article I wrote Tuesday about Nunda Township Republican Party filings was based on what had happened as of 4:30 Monday afternoon. I asked Township Clerk to call me if anyone else filed, but, getting no call, make the false assumption that no one else had filed.

It turns out that incumbent Nunda Township Assessor Dennis Jagla is being challenged by the same man who ran against him four years as an independent. His name is Alan Weaver and he is listed as the Alden Township Assessor in the McHenry County Yearbook.

In my first article about Nunda Township, Weaver’s name appeared as a person passing petitions for township assessor.

The article I wrote Tuesday about Nunda Township Republican Party filings was based on what had happened as of 4:30 Monday afternoon. I asked Township Clerk to call me if anyone else filed, but, getting no call, make the false assumption that no one else had filed.

It turns out that incumbent Nunda Township Assessor Dennis Jagla is being challenged by the same man who ran against him four years as an independent. His name is Alan Weaver and he is listed as the Alden Township Assessor in the McHenry County Yearbook.

In my first article about Nunda Township, Weaver’s name appeared as a person passing petitions for township assessor.

They don’t get paid a lot, but township trustee is considered a step on the political ladder.

When Nunda Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano made the random selection, here is what happened:

1. Thomas Palmer, an incumbent
2. Joni Smith, a challenger
3. James Schlader, an incumbent who ran for county board in the GOP primary election
4. Richard “Dick” Meyers, just appointed to take the place of Walt Romanus, who died, and a former township clerk and McHenry County Board member
5. Lee Jennings, who sought the appointment Meyers received
6. Kevin Sarnwick, an incumbent

Four will be nominated in the primary election to represent the Republican Party in the early April election.

No other contests exist, except for township assessor.

There incumbent Dennis Jagla will appear first will face off in the Republican Party primary election against challenger Alan Weaver, who serves as appointed assessor in Alden Township. Weaver ran as an independent last time around.

They don’t get paid a lot, but township trustee is considered a step on the political ladder.

When Nunda Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano made the random selection, here is what happened:

1. Thomas Palmer, an incumbent
2. Joni Smith, a challenger
3. James Schlader, an incumbent who ran for county board in the GOP primary election
4. Richard “Dick” Meyers, just appointed to take the place of Walt Romanus, who died, and a former township clerk and McHenry County Board member
5. Lee Jennings, who sought the appointment Meyers received
6. Kevin Sarnwick, an incumbent

Four will be nominated in the primary election to represent the Republican Party in the early April election.

No other contests exist, except for township assessor.

There incumbent Dennis Jagla will appear first will face off in the Republican Party primary election against challenger Alan Weaver, who serves as appointed assessor in Alden Township. Weaver ran as an independent last time around.

As I mentioned before, township officials get paid really well.

Especially in comparison to municipal officials.

Not to mention school board, park board and miscellaneous special districts, where there is no compensation except

When Cary School Board member Chris Jenner made his pitch for people to run for local office, however, he didn’t list townships as a government whose officials are up for election next spring.

So, why do people run for public office?

Most of the posts up next spring don’t pay anything.

“Public service” is often mentioned as a reason for running for office and that is undoubtedly a motivation for some, maybe many.

But it was put more crassly by the guy who taught the first campaign school I attended.

I remember he was from the Republican National Committee. Unfortunately, I can’t remember his name.

There were three reasons people run for office, he said, and all started with the letter “P:”

• Power
• Prestige
• Pecuniary

The first two are obvious. I took the last one to mean pay, but, given Chicago’s long history of political corruption, money obviously does not have to be limited to pay.

Looking at just the salaries for Nunda Township, you can see why people might want to hold the offices.

Right now, the pay is

• Supervisor – $64,350
• Highway Commissioner – $81,990
• Assessor – $70,875
• Clerk – $12,700
• Trustees – $150 per meeting

But, raises are in the offing for those elected next April.

• Supervisor – $66,900
• Highway Commissioner – $85,230
• Assessor – $73,700
• Clerk – $13,200
• Trustees – $156 per meeting

And, they are scheduled to increase about 4% per year.

Incumbent Supervisor John Heisler and Road Commissioner Don Kopsell have picked up petitions to run for re-election.

Already in Nunda Township two people are passing petitions for township assessor. Incumbent Dennis Jagla will be challenged again by Alan Weaver. Weaver ran as an independent in 2005 after Republicans didn’t slate him.

When Walt Romanus died recently a name from past political contests—Dick Meyers—came up as his replacement. He has gotten nominating petitions, as have incumbents Kevin Sarnwick, Jim Schlader (who ran for county board in the GOP primary), Tom Palmer. Lee Jennings, who applied unsuccessfully for the Romanus vacancy, is also gathering signatures.

So far, incumbent Township Clerk Bridgett Provenzano has not picked up a packet of petitions.

Republican Party primaries will be held in Algonquin, Dorr, Grafton, McHenry and Nunda Townships. The Democratic Party has not requested that primaries be held to select candidates in any McHenry County Township.

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The source of my “Three P’s” motivation for running for office?

Republican National Committee campaign veteran Ray Humphreys in a campaign school at Illinois College in Jacksonville.  Humphreys had been a West Virginia state representative, elected in 1950,  and ran for congress in 1936 and 1938.