Primary between coroner, board candidates loom as filing closes in St. Clair County
Two veteran members of the St. Clair County board are not seeking re-election and the county’s current coroner is set to face off against his former deputy.
County board members June Chartrand and John West, who have served a combined 33 years on the board, will not be running for election in 2020.
Chartrand, 81, who represents St. Clair County’s 16th district in Dupo, said after 23 1/2 years on the board she plans to spend time with her family and vacation. She serves as a member of the county board finance, grants, transportation and executive committee and as the chairwoman of the property and recreation committee.
Michael Terry was the only candidate to file for the District 16 seat.
West, 80, who currently holds the county’s District 15 seat representing O’Fallon and Lebanon, said he plans to continue his work in a different sector, making way for a primary between Bobby Deadmond Sr. and John Coers.
West, a resident of O’Fallon, served on the board for more than 10 years. He said he plans to shift his focuses entirely to Healthier Together, a community-based movement that aims to catapult St. Clair County and the metro-east area to the top 25 percent of healthiest counties in Illinois by 2025.
He said his biggest accomplishment was getting fair property taxes for O’Fallon residents.
“I’ve accomplished everything I could on the county board. I’ve helped hundreds and hundreds of people with their property taxes and many other things,” he said. “I want to move on to something where I think I can do more.”
Former deputy challenges coroner
Calvin Dye, the county’s current coroner, will face off with former St. Clair County Deputy Coroner Dean Darnall. Dye was elected as in 2016 as the county’s first black coroner.
Neither Dye nor Darnall could be immediately reached for comment.
Other seats
Other seats on the St. Clair County Board that will see primary fights include the county coroner and county district 6 and 2.
In District 6, incumbent Roy Mosley Jr., faces a primary race against Karen Cason. In District 2, Ferris “Chilly” Williams and Harry Hollingsworth will run against each other in a primary to fill Joan McIntosh’s seat.
Several races are set to take place in the upcoming March primary in St. Clair County, at least four of which will see members of the same party facing off in a primary.
Filing for the March 17 primary closed at 5 p.m. Monday, setting in stone candidacies for several seats in St. Clair County.
Filings in St. Clair County as of 5 p.m. include:
Chairman: Mark Kern (D)
State’s Attorney: Jim Gomric (D)
Coroner: Calvin Dye (D), Dean Darnall (D)
Circuit Clerk: Kahalah Clay (D), Jason Madlock (R)
Auditor: Patty Sprague (D)
Recorder: Mike Costello (D), Ricky C. Eastern (D), Doug Jameson (R)
Board of Review: Kinnis Williams Sr. (D) Jim Wilson (R)
St. Clair County District 2: Ferris “Chilly” Williams (D), Harry Hollingsworth (D), Marvin B. Strode (R)
St. Clair County District 4: Robert A. Wilhelm (R)
St. Clair County District 5: Lonnie Mosley (D), Felix F. Arnold (D)
St. Clair County District 6: Roy Mosley Jr. (D), Karen A. Cason (D)
St. Clair County District 9: C. Richard Vernier (D)
St. Clair County District 15: John Coers (R), Bobby Deadmond Sr. (R)
St. Clair County District 16: Michael Terry (D)
St. Clair County District 24: Marty Crawford (D)
St. Clair County District 25: James Haywood (D)
St. Clair County District 29: John Waldron (D), Rick Casey (R)
This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 5:05 PM.