Update: DiMaria Wins Morton Grove Primary Election

Updated with reaction from the winning candidate

On a snowy election day--on which some election judges reported only a few dozen voters all day long--Morton Grove Trustee Dan DiMaria won the Action Party primary for Morton Grove mayor.

With all precincts reporting, DiMaria received 1,684 votes, or 60.4 percent. Staackman got 1,112 votes, or 39.6 percent.

"My message was about economic development, and it resonated with people," DiMaria said Wednesday morning. "It's not about me, it's about the village."

DiMaria will now face an independent candidate, Trustee Larry Gomberg, in the April 9 election. The winner of that race will be elected mayor.

Earlier: DiMaria: Why I'm Running 

In an earlier interview with Patch, DiMaria said he would take a more aggressive approach to economic development in Morton Grove. He also said he would not look to paring village government staff and services as the only solution to troubled economic times; he said, in essence, that money has to be invested in business development. 

On Wednesday, DiMaria said his campaign had four to six volunteers knocking on doors every weekend for about six weeks. 

"We worked hard and the people saw the positive message," he said. "It was awesome."

Trustee Bill Grear described the mood at DiMaria's victory party Tuesday night, held at the Bringer Inn on Lincoln Avenue, as "very exciting," and said supporters began celebrating when 14 of 16 precincts were reporting and DiMaria had about 60 percent of the vote.

"A lot of Morton Grove people know the village is going to move forward," Grear said.

"I believe we ran a clean campaign. We had the support of parks people, school moms and dads, Moose members, Legionnaires."

He said the results were not about the Action Party, but about the betterment of the village. He was hopeful that DiMaria will bring new businesses in.

"Morton Grove's better right now because we're going to move forward," he said.

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