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THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021
Cuzzone earns narrow victory in the race for village president Unofficial results show Cuzzone with a 77-vote win over Wagner
STAFF REPORT
Nick Cuzzone edged Robert Wagner in last week’s election to select Villa Park’s next village president. According to the unofficial results from the April 6 election, Cuzzone received 1,464 votes. He defeated Wagner by 77 votes. Wagner garnered 1,387 votes in the race to succeed Villa Park Village President Albert Bulthuis. Bulthuis, who was elected village president in 2017, did not seek re-election. Bulthuis will conclude 14 years on the village board next month. He was elected as a trustee in 2007. He won re-election in 2011 and 2015. His win in the three-way race for village president in 2017 created a vacancy on the village board. Shortly after he became village president in 2017, Bulthuis appointed David Cilella to fill the remaining two years of a term (vacated by Bulthuis) as a village trustee. In 2019, Cilella was elected to a full four-year term as a trustee. “It was definitely a close race,” said Cuzzone when asked for comments on the April 6 election. “I thought it was going to be. I think that was due to the fact that both candidates were well qualified for the position and had the experience to be a good president.” Cuzzone also responded to a question asking if he had a message for Villa Park voters. “I’d like to tell the voters thank you for putting your confidence in me,” he said. “I will work hard to keep Villa Park moving forward. There are a lot of good things happening in our village, and several projects that, if completed, will benefit the residents for years to come. I am excited to be president at this time and look forward to seeing many projects come to fruition.” Both Cuzzone and Wagner are
completing four-year terms as village trustees. Wagner was elected to the village board in 2013; he was re-elected to another four-year term as a village trustee in 2017. Cuzzone joined the board after defeating two other candidates in the 2015 election to serve the remaining two years of the seat vacated by Trustee John Davis, who resigned because of health reasons. Cuzzone was elected to a full fouryear term as a village trustee in 2017. Cuzzone will be sworn in as village president during the upcoming May 10 village board meeting. “I want to thank all the voters that participated in the April 6 election, especially the volunteers and supporters that helped me during my race,” said Wagner in a post-election statement. “During the campaign I tried to conduct myself with honesty and honor. One of the greatest joys I experienced while campaigning was meeting voters and listening to their concerns and suggestions.” Wagner’s statement also referred to the narrow margin in the race. “Though the path to winning the election seems remote, we are waiting for the final certification of the election on or around April 21,” noted Wagner.
“I’m looking forward to working with new and current trustees to help make a more inclusive, transparent and efficient Villa Park,” said Corkery in responding to a question asking for his post-election comments. “I want to thank the people of Villa Park for trusting me to serve our town on the board, and to encourage anyone reading to reach out, get involved, attend meetings and let me know about any questions or concerns they may have about the village going forward.” Trustee Cheryl Tucker was the only incumbent candidate in the race for three available village trustee positions. Tucker, who was elected to the village board in 2017, did not win a second term. She finished fourth in last week’s six-way contest with an unofficial tally of 1,088 votes—224 votes behind Corkery. Kozar, Kumar and Corkery will join three other trustees on the Villa Park Village Board. Cilella, Christine Murphy and Kevin Patrick were elect-
ed to four-year terms in 2019. Matthew D’Alessandro and Marc Bregman finished in a near tie for fifth in last week’s six-way race for three available seats as village trustees. D’Alessandro attracted 1,004 votes in the unofficial tally, while Bregman won 1,002 votes. “I want to thank everyone who came out and voted to have their voices heard,” said D’Alessandro in his post-election remarks. “It is always important to vote, no matter the election. I want to thank everyone who supported me along the way. This definitely was a humbling experience and it was great to meet so many new people across Villa Park. Congratulations to Jack Kozar, Deepa Kumar and Jack Corkery on their victories, and I hope for success from this new board.” D’Alessandro added that he will look to get involved in village commissions to serve the community. He said he will continue to preach his messages of transparency, accessibil-
ity and community development. D’Alessandro also said he was surprised by the turnout in last week’s election. There were about 2,800 total votes in this year’s race for village president. He noted there were nearly 3,400 votes (3,374, according to the official results) cast in the three-way race for village president in 2017. “It’s always disappointing when you don’t win,” said Bregman after the April 6 election. “But throughout the entire campaign, I had said that I believe that all of the candidates mean well and bring something specific and special to the table. I congratulate all three [Corkery, Kozar and Kumar] and am confident they will do a great job.” Bregman joined D’Alessandro in referring to the turnout in this year’s election. “For a community that has so much involvement and opinion on the issues,
See CUZZONE, Page 4
Three new trustees will join the village board Three new village trustees will also be sworn in at the May 10 board meeting. The three Villa Park residents won four-year terms on the village board during last week’s election, which featured six candidates. Jack Kozar won the most votes of the six candidates. According to the unofficial results, he received 1,774 votes. Deepasriya Kumar, who received 1,388 votes, will also join the Villa Park Village Board, as will Jack Corkery, who earned 1,312 votes.
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Police Reports...........6 Sports �������������������� 12 Viewpoint............... 11 Classifieds..............14
CHRIS FOX PHOTO Villa Park Review
Nick Cuzzone won last week’s election to serve a four-year term as Villa Park Village President. According to the unofficial results, Cuzzone received 1,464 votes in the April 6 election. He defeated Robert Wagner by 77 votes. Both Cuzzone and Wagner are current village trustees whose four-year terms are about to expire. Cuzzone, who is pictured during the Villa Park Junior Women’s Club’s political forum on March 23, will be sworn in as village president at the May 10 village board meeting. He will succeed outgoing Villa Park Village President Albert Bulthuis, who did not seek re-election. Bulthuis has been on the village board for 14 years. He was elected as a trustee in 2007, and re-elected to that position in 2011 and 2015. He won a three-way race for village president in 2017.
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