Four Elmhurst Wards See Competition In April Election

ELMHURST, IL – Four of Elmhurst's seven wards are seeing competition in next April's City Council election.

Incumbents Noel Talluto of Ward 4 and James Nudera of Ward 5 are running unopposed. Nudera was appointed to the council to fill the seat left vacant by Scott Levin's election as mayor in 2021.

In Ward 3, Michael Bram is the lone candidate. He served on the City Council for two decades until 2021. That year, he finished second of three candidates in the mayoral race.

The Ward 3 seat is held by Alderwoman Dannee Polomsky, who announced she would not run for another term.

Candidates had until Monday to file their candidacies.

The council is made up of 14 members, two for each of the city's seven wards. One seat is up for election in each ward.

Here's who has filed their candidacies:

• Ward 1: Jennifer Veremis (incumbent), Rhian Fazzini and Engy Sutherland
• Ward 2: Karen Sienko and Jake Meding
• Ward 3: Michael Bram
• Ward 4: Noel Talluto (incumbent)
• Ward 5: James Nudera (incumbent)
• Ward 6: Guido Nardini and Laura Vevers
• Ward 7: Mark Mulliner (incumbent) and Rex Irby

Patch gave information about the candidates in Ward 1 in a story last week.

In Ward 2, Karen Sienko and Jake Meding are vying for the seat occupied by Bob Dunn, who decided to run for the Elmhurst park board in the election.

Sienko is a reference librarian at Oak Brook Public Library, according to her LinkedIn page.

Meding is the annual fund manager at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2012. He said he is involved with the Elmhurst Heritage Foundation and is an Economic Development Commission member. "It has been a dream of mine to run for office, and I am excited to be given this opportunity to serve the citizens of Elmhurst," he said in a statement on LinkedIn.

In Ward 6, Guido Nardini is facing Laura Vevers for the seat held by Alderman Mike Honquest, who decided against running again. Nardini has spoken during local school board meetings in favor of masks and defended teachers against conservative critics.

Vevers is the director of women's ministry, regional director and chaplain at the Biker Bible Institute, according to her social media pages. She holds a bachelor's degree in theology and professional communications from Elmhurst University and a master's degree in evangelism and leadership from Wheaton College. "I want to help Elmhurst to stay a safe and inviting community," she told Patch in a Facebook message.

In Ward 7, Alderman Mark Mulliner, a former Elmhurst school district official, decided to run for another term on the council. Last winter, he helped form the Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum. The group contends that the local school district is indoctrinating students with critical race theory.

Irby's Facebook page lists him as the vice president of International Solar Services and the former owner of Computer Guy. He went to high school and college in Texas.

The election is April 4.