Rock Island Today

Mercer County Republicans hope to flip two posts at the courthouse and are looking for a few good candidates to run for County Board, a Mercer GOP official said during a recent interview.

"There will be five board seats up for the election," Mercer County GOP Vice Chair Linda Sarabasa told Rock Island Today. "We currently only have two candidates who met the filing deadline. Three districts continue with no candidates but we are actively recruiting and looking at our options to slate candidates after the primaries."

New Boston Mayor Chris DeFrieze, a Mercer County Board member since his appointment to a vacancy left by the late Joe Vann, is seeking the District 4 seat, while Aledo resident Steve Moreland is running for the District 5 seat. The Mercer County Republican Party is seeking candidates for Seats 1, 2 and 3, Sarabasa said.

Mercer County GOP Vice Chair Linda Sarabasa | Photo courtesy of Linda Sarabasa

DeFrieze also is seeking the New Boston precinct committeeman seat, as is Laurie Bluedorn.

At the courthouse, Mercer County Republicans are hoping to take two posts, county sheriff and clerk, from their Democrat incumbents.

Robert "Jay" Doherty is running for Mercer County Clerk. In his profile on the Mercer County Republicans website, Doherty refers to his six years on the Aledo City Council and his "experience working with municipal budgets and elections."

"With my deep Mercer County roots and positive attitude, I believe I will serve the citizens of this county well," Doherty said in his candidate profile. Doherty is also running for Mercer 5 Precinct Committeeman.

Deputy coroner Dustin “Dusty” Terrill is challenging incumbent Democrat Mercer County Sheriff Dave Staley, who has been in that post since his election in 2014. Terrill, who announced his candidacy in June, is a part-time Aledo police officer and full time Mercer County deputy sheriff. Terrill has been in law enforcement since 1997 when he received an associate’s degree in that field from Black Hawk College and became a telecommunicator at the Mercer County Sheriff's Department, according to the Rock Island Dispatch-Argus. He became a Mercer County sheriff's deputy in 2000 and 10 years later was promoted to detective.

"We would like to see some more Republicans in the courthouse," Sarabasa said.

Sarabasa has stepped up to fill the Mercer 2 precinct committee person seat. Other Republicans signed up for precinct committeemen are Jo Anne Nelson for North Henderson, Jeff Gregory for Suez, Danny Hare for Greene 1, Susan DeBlock for Green 2, Larry Neal for Preemption 2, Barb Chiles for Mercer 1, Bob Vickrey for Mercer 6 and Becky Hawn for Keithsburg.

Fiscal responsibility is an important issue in Mercer County, which had a difficult financial year in 2017, as did many small rural Illinois counties, Sarabasa said. 

"Trying to ensure continuation of services and maintaining financial strength, balancing the counties needs for improved roads, infrastructure and public safety needs with budget constraints," she said. "2018 also requires the renewing of the county employees union contract."

Mercer County GOP also has its eye on state-level politics, particularly those driven by Illinois' powerful Democrat State House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, Sarabasa said. 

"As a party, we are concerned with the activities in Springfield related to Madigan and Rauner's ability to move the state forward financially as this has a huge impact on small rural communities," she said.

"We are very pleased and supportive of Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha) as he finishes his freshman term as a House Representative," Sarabasa said. "He has announced his re-election intentions and we will be watching and supporting him as we did his initial campaign run. He has been a great voice for farmers and small communities, an advocate for reducing spending and waste."

Local Republicans also are watching the campaign of longtime Galesburg resident and businessman Mark Kleine, the GOP candidate seeking the U.S. House seat of Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-East Moline) in next year's general election. 

"We are supporting him as he is for small business and new to the political scene, we feel he has some fresh ideas," Sarabasa said.

"We hope to continue to bring Conservative values and fiscal strength to the county and state as we support those running for office as representatives of our party," she said.