Elfmann outlasts Papadatos in race for third trustee spot in Northfield

The stress of public office started early in Northfield, as two candidates for village trustee eagerly awaited late mail-in ballots to decide their fates.

When the ballot deadline passed on Tuesday, April 15, Edwin Elfmann held a nine-vote lead — a 15-vote turnaround from election night — to claim the third and final open seat on the Northfield Village Board.

“It’s quite the experience to go from down to up and trying to figure out how many new ballots came in that day, trying to do math in your head, figuring out how long the mail system works,” Elfmann said. “It was stressful and exciting, and at the end of the day, I’m proud of all the folks who ran.”

On election night, the voting tallies represent votes submitted at the polls that day, early-voting totals and counted mail-in ballots, which could be postmarked by Election Day, April 1. More than 100 ballots were added to the results post Election Day.

Elfmann collected 860 votes, or 23.64%, just ahead of business owner Pamela Papadatos (851 votes, 23.39%) for third place, according to tallies from the Cook County Clerk’s Office. Incumbent Matthew Galin (981, 26.97%) and Andrew Juedes (946, 26%) are the top two vote-getters.

Papadatos, who led the charge against a proposed roundabout on Happ Road, thanked voters and pledged to remain involved.

“I”m so grateful for the overwhelming support. It was such a close race!,” she said in a message to The Record. “I look forward to getting to know the newly elected trustees. I will continue to advoate for the businesses and residents of Northfield.”

Elfmann works in policy for the American Bankers Association and is a volunteer football coach at New Trier High School. Along with Galin and Juedes, he was endorsed by the Northfield Village Caucus.

Find out more about the trustee candidates in The Record’s Meet the Candidates profiles.

“I’m really honored that the people in the village decided to elect me to be one of the trustees at the end of the day,” Elfmann said. “I’m honored for the opportunity and looking forward to helping move the village forward in the next four years here.”

Also backed by the caucus, Trustee Tracey Mendrek won her race for village president against fellow Trustee Charles Orth. In another close race, Mendrek earned 53.79% of the vote, or 845 votes, to Orth’s 46.21%, or 726 votes. She held a similar lead on election night.

The 1,588 ballots submitted out of Northfield made for a 32.97% voter turnout, the largest in the area and the largest in modern Northfield history. The highest turnout percentage prior to this cycle in Northfield was 15.9% in 2019, another contested election. Many Northfield elections finished with single-digit voting percentages, such as the 3.2% in 2013 and 2015 — neither year saw contested races.

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