This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the Aurora area in the March 19 primary election.

The race for the Kane County Board seat in District 16 in the Republican primary on March 19 is between longtime board member Michael Kenyon and Eric Stare.

The winner will face Democrat Ted Penesis, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, in the general election in November.

Kenyon, 79, who lives in an unincorporated area near South Elgin, said he has served on the county board for 18 years and that people in the district are concerned about property taxes, public safety and the economy.

Taxes, Kenyon said, continue to be an issue “since most people don’t realize the county only gets 3% to 4% of the tax money.”

“The schools get the highest amount. People don’t know where their taxes go, but they get higher every year,” Kenyon said. “We’re the ones that issue the tax bills so people assume a lot of it is going to us.”

Regarding public safety, Kenyon said, “we read about what happens in Chicago” and that “people driving out here are nuts.”

“I’m always driving and looking in my rearview mirror because somebody’s always on my tail even though I’m going the speed limit,” he said. “People are too aggressive and my constituents do talk about that.”

The economy, he said, “finds us paying more every time we go to the grocery store and most of us don’t feel like we’re keeping up with our expenses.”

If reelected, Kenyon said he wants to work on prudent spending of money, along with issues concerning mental health and making others aware of the services available.

“We don’t want to spend money like a drunken sailor,” he said. “We have to spend our money wisely.”

Along with public safety, Kenyon said “there is also the issue of mental health.”

“I asked the coroner the other day – the overdose deaths are rising each year,” he said, and that “the suicide rate is also up. I think mental health is an issue I’d like to continue to address.”

The other issue, he said, involves people knowing who to reach out to for help.

Stare, 46, of South Elgin, is an Elgin Township trustee but said this is his first time running for the county board.

Issues, he said, include the current immigration situation, tax increases and elections.

“People are concerned about illegal immigration and overwhelming our social services,” Stare said. “We don’t have the resources.”

Regarding taxes, he said “people are sick of them.”

In terms of elections, Stare said his constituents “want to go back to paper ballot voting.”

“They want voter ID and a hand count. I’ve had mixed reviews on early voting but there are people that want to go back to election day and vote on the day the polls are open,” he said.

If elected, Stare said he wants to work on keeping taxes down, eliminating the gas tax and pulling back on green initiatives.

“Our taxes are already too high and I would not support an increase,” he said.

Stare said he has issues with green initiatives in the county.

“I don’t believe in global warming and climate change or any of that. I think it’s all a lie,” he said. “If we go to electric cars and solar farms all over the place, I just think it’s unsustainable.”

Stare said he “also wants to be a good voice and defend the Second Amendment and any issue that comes up with that.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.