Deanne Mazzochi and Frank Napolitano took an early lead in the race to fill three six-year terms on the College of DuPage Board of Trustees.
With all precincts reporting as of Wednesday, Mazzochi holds 19 percent of the vote while Napolitano captured 15 percent in Tuesday's election.
Charles Bernstein and Sandra Pihos were neck-to-neck in filling the third open seat, with Bernstein at almost 13 percent of the vote and Pihos closer to 12 percent.
Official results will be released April 27, according to the County of DuPage Election Commission.
The election for trustees at the publicly funded college in Glen Ellyn comes shortly after controversy surrounding top administrators’ extravagant spending on the taxpayers’ dime, the Chicago Tribune reported. The college was subpoenaed March 30 to turn over financial records.
Officials at the state’s largest community college, including President Robert Breuder, reportedly spent more than $190,000 on nearly 500 occasions at the school’s fine dining restaurant since 2011. The Tribune reports that the college picked up the bills at the 130-seat Waterleaf restaurant, with meals that cost nearly $200 per person and included copious amounts of pricey alcohol.
Twelve candidates are on the ballot for the three open seats on the college’s board of trustees. Three of the candidates -- Bernstein of Naperville, Napolitano of Bloomingdale and Mazzochi of Elmhurst -- ran together under what they call a “Clean Slate” platform, which criticizes Breuder’s performance and seeks to reduce his $763,000 severance package.
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Other candidates include Claire Ball of Addison, Dan Bailey of Wheaton, Dave Carlin of Naperville, incumbent Nancy Svoboda of Downers Grove, incumbent Kim Savage of Darien, Joseph M. Wozniak of Naperville, Matt Gambs of Naperville, Sandra Pihos of Glen Ellyn and Roger Kempa of Darien.
