District 308 School Board President Drops Re-Election Bid

Bill Walsh. Credit: File photo

Oswego School District 308 Board of Education president on Thursday announced he’s dropping his re-election bid amid a challenge from a fellow candidate’s spouse.

Walsh’s nominating petitions were challenged by Jeremy Swanson, husband of fellow school board member Alison Swanson, who is running for re-election, according to Only Oswego.

Walsh on Thursday issued a statement announcing his withdrawal from the April 7 race, saying he made the decision because, “unfortunately, on page 5 of the petitions I inadvertently left my name and the position I was planning to run for blank. Under the law this needs to be completed, otherwise all signatures on that page will be found invalid,” Only Oswego reported. Walsh went on to say that the decision will avoid additional costs “the wonderful citizens of Kendall County will otherwise incur” if the challenge went before the electoral board, and apologized for his oversight, adding, “I will review all of my options to serve District 308.”

An electoral board hearing had been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 9.

Walsh, who was first elected in 2011, had announced his re-election bid in September.

Six candidates are still vying for three seats on the board in the April election, including Swanson, incumbent Brent Lightfoot, Lauri Doyle, Jared Ploger, Brad Banks and Kevin Harris.