After opting to switch parties in February, Lake County Clerk Robin O’Connor — a new member of the Lake County Republicans — faces an election challenge from Democrat Anthony Vega.
O’Connor, elected as a Democrat in 2018, switched her allegiance just before primary season kicked into full gear, citing disagreements with local Democratic leaders about her “future aspirations of improvements.”
A former Libertyville Township trustee and career educator, O’Connor believes the office of county clerk should be strictly nonpartisan, despite the normal practice of declaring a party affiliation — and her own decision to do so.
The topic of party loyalty has been a key feature of the campaign, which intensified once County Recorder Mary Ellen Vanderventer pulled out of the clerk race last winter. The duties of county recorder are being folded into the clerk’s office.
Vega called O’Connor’s move a “slap in the face to voters” after they put her in the office.
“It means your values change, or your values are willing to change, based on your political viability,” he said.
O’Connor views things entirely differently, and disagrees with Vega’s staunch support for other Democrats running for office.
“He stated something that I am completely against,” she said. “You have to be nonpartisan in this job. That is one of the criteria.”
She said nonpartisanship is one of three pillars she asks employees to abide by, as well as being a “collaborative team member” and focusing on clerk’s work while in the office.
Vega, a Grayslake resident who has served as Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg’s chief of staff, believes he can do the job better than O’Connor.
“I help oversee one of the largest county departments,” Vega said. “The sheriff’s office is nearly 500 staff strong, with a budget of over $70 million a year. And we’re a 24/7 operation. There’s never a day when we’re just closed. That experience alone and navigating county government, our committee structures looking at procurement for big contracts for whatever it may be, leading our community partnerships and our communications, that was handled through my office.”
Vega said he was deeply disturbed by the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. He said the prevalence of “election deniers” running for offices that govern elections is particularly troubling.
Vega said O’Connor’s party switch has “given a lot of people pause,” despite her belief that the 2020 election was free and fair.
“Sure enough, we’ve seen the rise of these election deniers, the big lie believers, that are running not only for secretary of state, but they’re running for county clerk,” Vega said.
“What does (O’Connor) really believe in? I don’t know,” he continued. “She said something four years ago; now she is saying something else. Lake County deserves a clerk where the voters know where they stand.”
He said it is “safe to say, 100%” that he would not be switching parties in his future if elected to the position.
“I have worked for many years for social justice causes, to protect our environment, to make law enforcement more compassionate when we deal with those that have been underserved and marginalized,” Vega said. “I think my record speaks for itself.”
He continued, “I’m a gay man, a son of immigrant parents. I am what (Republicans) demonize in the talk show boxes and the media.”
Vega has criticized O’Connor for costing the county $575,000 in a settlement over a lawsuit brought by a pair of former county clerk’s office employees alleging they were fired for pointing out possible wrongdoing in government contracting.
O’Connor said she is not allowed to speak directly about the settlement.
“A settlement in a case like this, when you sign a settlement, you are agreeing that there is no fault,” she said. “I am the person, when they say you cannot speak about it, I don’t.”
O’Connor touts her handling of the unprecedented 2020 election, which saw a huge growth in voting by mail, and her moves to set up the 847-377-Vote (8683) phone line, where she said voters are “immediately connected to staff” to answer questions.
“What I have learned about this particular job is that there were avenues that I could actually use my expertise and make things better, ranging from the vote by mail automation center I have made a hundred improvements across the board, and there are probably more, within my office,” O’Connor said. “And remember, my office is not just elections, it’s vital records and also our tax division.”
O’Connor said she has made building trust in elections a priority, and said she regularly invites people to come to the clerk’s office to better understand how the position and elections work. She said her motto is, “When you educate one, you educate 10.”
“‘This is your office,'” O’Connor recalled telling one area resident. “‘I work for you.’ I really believe it’s that welcoming, answering people’s questions, bringing their fear down and giving them the truth. I went to a meeting once and people were questioning, ‘How come the election changes after the election? How come it changes after the election, the (vote) count?'”
O’Connor said she explained to those at the meeting that vote by mail ballots arrive on Election Day and can be counted afterward if they are postmarked by the date of the election, and that the majority of those ballots were counted the day after the election in 2020.
She also said that some people don’t understand that “human nature is people tend to sometimes vote last-minute, even if you think of early voting,” referring to mailing ballots in and how the last day of early voting often draws a larger crowd.
Vega said delays in processing vote by mail ballots in Lake County during the 2020 election, including in a high-profile congressional race between Lauren Underwood and Jim Oberweis, may have hurt people’s local perceptions of election integrity.
“We were the last county to release our results in that (congressional) race,” he said. “So much so, because it was based on the timeline and then it triggered a discovery recount, that (Underwood’s) opponent Oberweis said, ‘I’m going to go to new member orientation because at the end of the day, I’m going to win.’ When people see that, regular people who are not involved in the election, who are not involved maybe from a party perspective, that doesn’t give a boost of confidence.”
O’Connor disputed Vega’s claims and said processing a county record of 137,897 mail ballots did not cause a delay in determining that race’s winner or in triggering the candidate discovery recounts.
She said, “staff and election judges worked nights and weekends” to process all mail ballots the county received that were postmarked on or before Election Day until the close of the provisional ballot counting period 14 days after Election Day.
“I’m proud to say that I am the first clerk in Lake County to provide the vote total updates before the 14th day after the election night totals are released,” O’Connor wrote in an email. “With more voters participating in (vote by mail), I feel it is important and beneficial to the voters, candidates and the press, but all should know that the election actually ends on the 14th day.”
O’Connor believes she has built trust in local elections even as political partisanship has sharply corresponded with views on election security.
“I do believe that we are building trust within our community, and that is the most important of all,” she said. “If they trust you then that fear goes away, then people are welcoming and enjoying voting. I always say, ‘Your vote is the voice of democracy. You must vote.’ I believe that education is the key, and being very open and inviting.”
Vega blasted O’Connor in a Sept. 29 statement after what O’Connor referred to as a “software glitch” with express voting machines held up the beginning of early voting, and some voters were told they would need to return at a later time to cast their ballot.
“Under different circumstances, I’d share the confusion with those seeking to vote today,” Vega said. “However, this lack of preparedness is not at all surprising under the O’Connor Administration. In fact, it is consistent with how Robin O’Connor has run this office since being elected in 2018.”
O’Connor said that while some people were unable to vote at first, her office made sure that everyone was either contacted later when voting opened or they were offered a vote-by-mail application, or both.
Her response to the situation, she said, exemplifies what makes her the right fit for the office.
“The most important thing is that, and this is what I really believe I do well, is I stay calm,” O’Connor said. “I say, ‘We are doing the very best we can, and our goal is to fix this and take care of you fast.’ And we did.”
O’Connor said she knows Lake County “extremely well,” and is uniquely qualified to serve the area.
“My opponent has only lived here for a few years, and I do not believe he has the background in Lake County as I do,” she said. “
Vega countered that he bought a home in Grayslake, plans to raise his family in the county and said he wants to “make Lake County a better place.”
After this story was originally posted, comments from Robin O’Conor about the handling of ballots in relation to the Lauren Underwood-Jim Oberweis race were added.
