Bugg, Linnane take Aurora’s 9th Ward primary
By Stephanie Lulay slulay@stmedianetwork.com February 26, 2013 9:20PM
The Wheatlands Elementary School principal Janet DeMont repositions the Ward 9 polling place sign as snow starts to cover the ground in Aurora on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. | Steven Buyansky~Sun-Times Media
Updated: March 28, 2013 6:20AM
AURORA — In a primary race with dismal turnout, 9th Ward candidates Edward Bugg and Marge Linnane have earned their spots on the April 9 ballot, and will now vie to represent the city’s fastest-growing ward.
In a crowd of four candidates, Bugg gained about 45 percent of the vote and Linnane earned 23 percent, with all of 12 precincts reporting. Linnane led candidate Matt Harrington, a community relations director, by three votes.
According to Aurora Election Commission and DuPage Election Commission totals, less than 3 percent of registered 9th Ward voters, or 290 people, turned out to cast ballots in the Tuesday primary on Aurora’s far East Side.
Bugg, 46, a real estate director, has applied to represent the ward two years ago when incumbent Alderman Leroy Keith resigned. Linnane, 60, a Glendale Heights assistant planning and zoning administrator, has been active in the ward but hasn’t made a run for office before this year. Candidate Bob Shelton, a former Aurora alderman and regional sales manager, finished last in the primary race.
Bugg said he plans to run his next race like the primary — by campaigning on his economic vision for the ward and building community morale.
“I feel good about the way that I ran my campaign. But ... turnout was very, very low. There’s a lot of work to be done,” Bugg said.
The field of five candidates was narrowed to four on Sunday when candidate Michael Ochs dropped out of the race.
