Winnebago County Treasurer election: Schultz wins over Goral

Republican Party challenger Steve Schultz defeated longtime Winnebago County Treasurer Sue Goral by a margin of 51.6% to 48.4%, according to unofficial results from the Rockford Board of Elections and the Winnebago County Clerk's offices Tuesday night.

Schultz earned 35,889 votes compared to Goral's total of 33,612 votes.

Schultz, a Republican member of the Winnebago County Board, is a certified public accountant recently retired from a 32-year career managing the finances of Converge Cornerstone Fund, a national organization that represents 1,500 churches across the country.

"To all those who believed in my candidacy and did the work to help me win this election, thank you," Schultz posted to Facebook Wednesday morning. "I’ll do my best to prove you right in your decision to get behind my campaign and put me in this office, with God’s help."

Schultz, 56, has eight children and seven grandchildren. He lives in Roscoe. He had a career in finance and is now retired. He's been on the Winnebago County Board since 2008.

Goral has been running the Winnebago County Treasurer's office for 22 years. She defeated Alan Palmer in 2000 to fill the unexpired term of Doug Aurand and went on to run unopposed in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018.

Her office came under scrutiny this year when it was learned that she was a victim of an email scam that cost the county more than $70,000.

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Goral, 76, is married with two adult children and three grandchildren. She lives in Rockford. She's worked in the treasurer's office for 45 years.

Ken DeCoster covers business news and features. Contact him at 815-987-1391, kdecoster@rrstar.com or @DeCosterKen.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Winnebago County Treasurer election: Schultz wins over Goral