Kendall County Board member Matt Prochaska was the leading vote-getter Tuesday in the Republican primary for Kendall County circuit clerk, according to unofficial final results.
Prochaska was the top vote-getter in a three-way race with 3,703 voters – 42.68% of the ballots, according to unofficial final numbers.
The other GOP candidates were Emily Carlson with 2,546 votes – 29.34% – of the tallies and Michelle Halbesma who had 2,428 votes – 27.98% according to the final unofficial results.
The current Kendall County Circuit Clerk Robyn Ingemunson is not seeking re-election.
Prochaska is in line to face Democrat Ryan Kauffman in the November election, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Kauffman served one term on the Oswego Village Board from 2015 to 2019. He did not win a bid for a second term.
Prochaska attributes his successful campaign to getting his message out and his knowledge of how the county operates.
“The Circuit Clerk’s Office needs someone with county experience. I am the only candidate who has actively worked to balance the county budget, participate in union negotiations and help rewrite the county employee handbook,” Prochaska said.
The circuit clerk is a non-judicial officer responsible for all of the official records of the court filed in Kendall County, including child support, traffic, probate and criminal court.
Prochaska, of Bristol, contends he has a grasp of what is needed in the office since he has been a Kendall County Board member for seven years. His current four-year board term in District 1 expires in 2022.
He is a director of operations for Strive Strategies Group, a marketing and consulting firm headquartered in Oak Brook with offices in Aurora.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
