Politics & Government

Rogina Wins St. Charles Mayoral Race

Third Ward alderman has clear 2-to-1 lead over nearest contender in St. Charles mayoral race, according to unofficial tallies.

Third Ward Alderman Raymond Rogina handily won St. Charles’ mayoral election Tuesday night by a convincing lead over the nearest of his three competitors in a vote that saw fewer voters turn out to the polls than the mayoral contest four years ago.

With unofficial results showing him with 2,031 votes — more than a 2-to-1 margin over his nearest challenger, Rogina accepted the win with eagerness about the future and a measure of graciousness.

“I was asurprised at the margin,” Rogina said late Tuesday. “These were three great guys running against me. I’m elated with the margin of victory, but I’m humbled by it at the same time.”

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Rogina said throughout the campaign, he listened to and learned from his opponents — Jake Wyatt, John Rabchuk and Jotham Stein — and said their voices will be very important to him as he prepares to step into his new role as the city’s mayor.

“I’d also like to say the people in St. Charles have had a real clean race,” he continued, noting that he and his election opponents focused on issues people wanted to hear about and discuss. “I am happy and am looking forward to the challenge.”

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Rabchuk, said the election results were clear to him when he contacted Rogina, whose campaign had gathered at , to watch polling results unfold, about 9:15 p.m. “I called to congratulate him — clearly he was way ahead … he had a clear majority,” he said.

Surrounded by supporters who gathered at , to await election results, Rabchuk ended the night with an unofficial tally of 726 votes, putting him in the race’s No. 3 spot. He said his campaign was a learning experience and that he enjoyed getting out to meet St. Charles residents. He also thanked all of those who supported his candidacy.

But he expressed disappointment that only about 4,000 voters turned out to cast ballots, which he said was about a third fewer than the 5,500 who voted in St. Charles’ last mayoral race.

Wyatt, the retired Army colonel who was the last of the four candidates to enter the mayoral race, saw 989 votes, casting him in the night’s unofficial runner-up spot.

He expressed frustration that vote tallies seemed to freeze for about an hour later in the evening, and said he learned from the Kane County Elections Office that it had experienced computer difficulties. Wyatt said the clerk’s office indicated absentee and early ballots had not been counted by 10 p.m., but acknowledged it was highly unlikely that they would upset Rogina’s lead.

“There’s no doubt in my mind Mr. Rogina will be the next mayor of St. Charles, and I want to congratulate him,” Wyatt said, calling from American Legion Post 342, 1150 North 5th Ave., where he and his supporters had gathered to watch their computer screens as election results were being updated.

He also congratulated his other election opponents on running a clean, issues-oriented campaign, and thanked all the the people who had supported him throughout his candidacy.

Jotham Stein, a business attorney campaigning largely on business recruitment, ethics and property tax issues, did not return a call late Tuesday. He finished fourth among the four mayoral candidates with just 600 votes, according to unofficial results.

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