Boone County voters choose old, new faces for County Board

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• By Adam Poulisse
  Staff writer

   

• Posted Mar. 16, 2016 at 12:01 AM

• BELVIDERE — Voters in the GOP primary in Boone County selected two newcomers, two incumbents and two former board members to serve on the County Board.

  All three County Board districts saw contested races in the Republican primary, which featured 10 candidates. Craig Schultz, who ran unopposed in District 3, was the only candidate on the Democratic side of the ballot. Voters selected two candidates from each district to advance to the general election in November.

  In District 1, Marshall Newhouse, a farmer and former County Board member, and incumbent Denny Ellingson won the nomination ahead of former County Board member W. Fred Genrich. Newhouse and Ellingson each had about 39 percent of the vote to 22 percent for Genrich.

  In District 2, incumbent Cathy Ward and newcomer Dr. Bernard O’Malley held an edge over incumbent Cory Lind, who was appointed to the County Board in January to fill a vacant seat after Paul Larson resigned. O'Malley garnered 37 percent of votes and Ward 33 percent to 30 percent for Lind.

  Newhouse, Ellingson, Ward and O'Malley would run unopposed in November unless an independent candidate files or Democrats slate a challenger.

  In District 3, newcomer Carl Larson and Marion Thornberry, a former County Board member, pulled ahead with 31 and 26 percent of the votes, respectively. Martin Vanderweit and Matthew Ragano held 24 and 18 percent, respectively.

  Schultz, the lone Democrat in the County Board race, received 1,210 votes for District 3.

  Adam Poulisse: 815-987-1344; apoulisse@rrstar.com; @adampoulisse

Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/20160316/boone-county-voters-choose-old-new-faces-for-county-board

 

Challenger Tricia Smith defeats incumbent Boone County State's Attorney Michelle Courier

By Adam Poulisse
Staff writer

Posted Mar. 16, 2016 at 12:01 AM

BELVIDERE — Tricia Smith defeated incumbent State’s Attorney Michelle Courier in today's GOP primary.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Smith earned 53 percent of the votes (4,986) to Courier's 47 percent (4,431), according to unofficial election results.

“Based on the numbers, I’m hopeful that I won the Republican nomination,” Smith said, declining to speak further until official numbers were available.

A rowdy crowd of supporters for Smith gathered at Timber Pointe Golf Club in Poplar Grove and cheered as election results came in.

Courier was met with a lot of support at the VFW Post 1461 in Belvidere where her supporters gathered for the evening.

"I’m proud of my campaign. I’m proud of the work that I did (as) state’s attorney,” Courier said earlier in the evening. "... I’ve shown my record and the great job that we’ve done.”

Adam Poulisse: 815-987-1344; apoulisse@rrstar.com; @adampoulisse

Above is from:  http://www.rrstar.com/news/20160316/challenger-tricia-smith-defeats-incumbent-boone-county-states-attorney-michelle-courier