Like son, like father? Goddard wins bid to join son on Tazewell County Board
When two generations of a family run for political office, the second generation normally follows in the first generation's footsteps.
George W. Bush followed his father, George H.W. Bush, into the White House. And Ray LaHood preceded son Darin LaHood as U.S. Representative for Illinois' 18th District.
But the Goddard family of Pekin reversed that order during Tuesday's election. Republican Sam Goddard, who has been a District One representative on the Tazewell County Board for two years, found himself defending his seat against a slate of challengers that included his father and fellow Republican Mark Goddard.
"I think I can bring some good ideas to the table to help our county," Mark Goddard said. "Because we've lost some people in Illinois, we need to make some changes and go in a little bit of a different direction. It seems to me that we're increasing the size of our government, and most people I know want to see smaller government.".
District One also proved to be the most competitive County Board race Tuesday, with 14 candidates running for seven seats. The field was evenly divided, with seven Republicans and seven Democrats. In the end, Mark Goddard did not beat his son, who retained his seat. He will, however, join him, as he became one of two Republican District One challengers, along with Kaden Nelms of Pekin, to be elected as a new Board member. Sam Goddard noted that he and his father are business partners who are accustomed to working together, and believes they will continue to work well together on the County Board.
"I think we'll collaborate pretty well, along with the other Board members," he said. "We're both on the same political spectrum. I think we'll make a good team."
Other incumbents who successfully retained their seats were: Republicans Kim Joesting, Jay Hall, and Wayne Altpeter of Pekin; along with Nancy Proehl of Manito. Democrat incumbent Monica Shallenberger-Connett of Pekin was unseated. Other District One challengers were Democrats John McCabe, Talena Michaels, Renna Hadsall, Rita O’Rourke, Amy Orwig and Steven Sours, all of Pekin.
The Tazewell County Board election was a sweep for Republicans in all three districts. In District Two, eight candidates ran for seven available seats. Republican Roy Paget of Morton edged out Libertarian Eric Stahl of Tremont, and Republican incumbents Greg Sinn and Maxwell Schneider of Tremont; Vivian Hagaman, Greg Menold, and Nick Graff of Morton; and Randi Krehbiel of Hopedale all won re-election.
District Three saw seven Republican incumbents running for seven seats. Dave Mingus of East Peoria and Russ Crawford of East Peoria; Bill Atkins, Sierra Smith, and Greg Longfellow of Washington; and Board Vice Chairman Michael Harris and Tammy Rich-Stimson of Mackinaw all retained their seats.
This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Father, son highlight candidate slate for Tazewell County Board
