Exiting Mayor Arlene Mulder gives a thumbs up to Mayor-elect Thomas Hayes for the campaign and election results during a celebration at Peggy Kinnane’s at Vail Avenue and Campbell Street in downtown Arlington Heights Tuesday night.
With all 64 precincts reporting, Thomas Hayes is the winner for Village President of Arlington Heights. Hayes took a strong lead early in an exciting race for the position, also known as Mayor. He celebrated the election results with fellow trustees at Peggy Kinnanes. Hayes was steady during the last six months of the campaign, and focused on the positive influence of his leadership as Village Trustee and President Pro Tem in improving and maintaining the quality of life in Arlington Heights.
Hayes, 56, began as trustee on the board in 1991 — the same time as Mayor Arlene Mulder, who endorsed him after announcing she would not seek re-election. Hayes has served as president pro tem for more than a decade, while Mayor Arlene Mulder was occasionally absent.
One of Hayes’ first tasks as Mayor will be to appoint a new Village Trustee for the seat that he leaves vacant. Hayes was not up for re-election as Village Trustee, so his seat needs to be filled. Hayes had decided early that he will not fill the position with any candidates for Village President or Village Trustee that lost in the current election. The full village board includes one Village President and eight Village Trustees.
At Peggy Kinnane’s, where Tinaglia’s campaign/election celebration merged after meeting at Harry’s across the street, fellow board members consoled Bert Rosenberg and Norm Breyer for having to wait it out for two precincts to report their results. Rosenberg, who eventually came out ahead by 22 votes, was ahead of Breyer by only 4 votes as midnight approached. The celebration was reserved out of concern for the two fellow board members, and for the tasks ahead — looking to the future to serve the residents of Arlington Heights. Also, Tignalia was exhilarated and relieved. His biggest worry of Election Day was wondering what he would tell his hard-working supporters, if he were faced with having to concede. Like Hayes, he stayed positive while the race got a little edgy with actions of one of the challengers and his supporters.
Exiting Mayor Arlene Mulder, who was also at the celebration, was exuberant with the results. She was relieved she was retiring with a new leadership team that would be working to serve the people of the Village of Arlington Heights. She said the leadership of the Village of Arlington Heights isn’t about one person calling all the shots and acting alone. It’s about a team listening to the people. She said she’d like to see younger faces — in commissions, employment positions, etc. — with fresh ideas tending to the issues that were emphasized during the political campaign.
All eyes were focused on this projector screen at Peggy Kinnane’s with election results from the Cook County Clerk’s office update throughout election night.
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