7 Vie For Seats On Hinsdale D86 Board

HINSDALE, IL – Seven candidates submitted their names Tuesday for the five Hinsdale High School District 86 seats up in the April 1 election.

Tuesday was the first day of the candidate filing period, which ends next Monday.

Incumbent Jeff Waters was the lone candidate to run for the two-year seat. He had previously announced his candidacy.

Here are the six candidates vying for the four four-year seats on the board:

• Mary Satchwell
• Bobby Fischer
• Liz Mitha
• Andrew Catton
• Warren Ali
• Jenny Gannon

Besides Waters, no other incumbents filed their paperwork as of Tuesday, according to DuPage County records. They are Peggy James, Terri Walker, Heather Kartsounes and Abed Rahman. Rahman told Patch he would not run, given time constraints.

Satchwell, Mitha and Fischer already told Patch about their candidacies.

Catton ran in the 2023 school board election, finishing fourth of five candidates. Three seats were up. In 2021, Catton came onto the school board's scene contending the district was teaching critical race theory. The district denied it, and Catton later backed off from his assertion.

Ali has spoken at recent board meetings, praising members and calling himself a friend of the board.

In April, Gannon spoke out against the teachers union, which called for the ouster of board President Catherine Greenspon. The board unanimously reappointed Greenspon.