Levin Well Ahead Of Mulliner In Elmhurst Mayor Race

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin appears to have defeated his opponent, longtime former Alderman Mark Mulliner, in Tuesday's election.

It was another setback for conservatives in DuPage County. In recent years, suburbs around the country have trended more liberal.

Also in this year's election, Ward 2 incumbent Jacob Hill faced Kevin Kirby. In Ward 4, Mike Baker and Bobby Fontana were vying to succeed Alderman Brian Cahill. And in Ward 5, Adam Park and Dan Virgil ran for the seat held by Park's wife, Tina Park.

Here are the results in the races so far:

MAYOR

• Scott Levin: 6,436 votes (71%)
• Mark Mulliner: 2,626 votes (29%)

WARD 2 COUNCIL

• Jacob Hill: 811 votes (68%)
• Kevin Kirby: 387 votes (32%)

WARD 4 COUNCIL

• Mike Baker: 933 votes (64%)
• Bobby Fontana: 519 votes (36%)

WARD 5 COUNCIL

• Dan Virgil: 787 votes (59%)
• Adam Park: 545 votes (41%)

Mulliner positioned himself as the anti-tax candidate.

But Levin countered that Mulliner has been on the City Council for the last 24 of the 26 years, supporting Elmhurst's tax decisions over the years.

In 2021, they, along with Alderman Michael Bram, ran to succeed two-term Mayor Steve Morley. Levin prevailed, with Mulliner finishing third.

Probably the biggest issue this year was the proposal to tear down the 35-year-old police station and replace it. All the council candidates were for a new station, which is estimated to cost $48 million.

Now, the city is looking to pay for the building by increasing the hotel tax, selling a city building and hiking the city's property tax by $53 annually over two decades on a median-valued house.

Mulliner said he supports the police department, calling local officers "the best of the best."

But he said he does not support a new police station "at this time."

"I think there are a lot of other options that we have available to us, and I think we need to look at those," Mulliner said at a candidate forum.

Levin has made no bones about his support for a new police station, with the city listing the problems with the current one.

And he said the financial plan, which includes the property tax hike, was a good one.

"Our police station is 60 percent smaller than it should be," Levin said during the forum. "After seven years of study, it's now clear a new facility is the best option."

Over the years, Elmhurst aldermen have largely kept national politics out of city meetings. Levin, who described himself as middle of the road politically, said his opponent would likely violate that tradition.

"Mark is probably a little bit more extreme in terms of his viewpoint and is probably going to be more willing to inject national politics into a municipal forum, which I would not do," the mayor said at another forum.

Mulliner, a conservative, rejects that suggestion. And he has a history to back it up: When he was at council meetings, he spoke about city matters, not national ones.

In his final couple of years, however, Mulliner's outside activities angered local progressives. He took part in an anti-face mask protest outside an elementary school.

And he managed the Facebook page of a conservative group called Elmhurst Parents for Integrity in Curriculum, or EPIC. Its members contended critical race theory and Marxism were influencing Elmhurst School District 205's curriculum. The group called out teachers by name.

Mulliner, a former District 205 technology official, later left his role as the group's Facebook page administrator.

His 2023 council opponent, Rex Irby, won with 52 percent of the vote. Afterward, Irby told Patch that residents asked him to run because of their frustrations with Mulliner's political activities.

For his part, Levin was an official in Republican Governor Jim Thompson's administration. But local conservatives reject the idea that Levin is a Republican. They criticized Levin's 2023 proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month.

Last year, Elmhurst conservative activist Tom Chavez accused the mayor of using his public position to promote the goals of the Elmhurst Pride Collective, whose organizers he said were "radical political activists."

Shortly before November's election, Levin wrote a letter endorsing Alderwoman Marti Deuter, a Democrat, for District 45 state representative. He called her a "model alderman."

Mulliner supported Republican Dennis Reboletti.

Like suburbs across the country, Elmhurst has moved to the Democratic column. In the November election, Donald Trump lost virtually all local precincts.

Levin appears to be popular with local progressives. He was invited to the Progressives for Change candidate forum; Mulliner was not.

Recently, Annette Armstrong, the Democratic committeewoman for an Elmhurst precinct, backed Levin for mayor. She said Levin has "led the city with integrity."