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Politics & Government

Toftoy Keeps Longtime Post at Coroner's Office

Toftoy, the incumbent county coroner, received 57 percent of the vote to retain his office while challenger Mike Dabney could only gather about 42 percent.

Michael Dabney has said he has no regrets on the way he ran his race for Kendall County Coroner.

"I ran the campaign I wanted. Kendall County is a great place and I have thousands of more friends than I had before this campaign began,” Dabney said Tuesday night as results came in.

Running as an independent, Dabney challenged 20-year incumbent Ken Toftoy for the position. Toftoy, who also serves as chairman of the Kendall County Republican Party, maintained a firm lead over Dabney as election results came in Tuesday night. He garnered 57 percent of the vote while Dabney collected 42 percent.

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“It was a great campaign. The voters have spoken, and I respect their decision,” Dabney said.

He said he thinks the race was run in a positive manner.

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Toftoy did not return calls for comment. 

to have his name included on the ballot as an independent. The number of signatures on his nominating petition needed to be equal to at least 5 percent of the people who voted in the last general election.

The coroner’s race was one of the most contentious in Kendall County with the candidates trading verbal jabs during a candidate’s forum and supporters raising issues and trading barbs online.

One issue that became a point of contention was the number of deputy coroners employed by the coroner’s office. Dabney said he would reduce the budget by reducing the number of part-time deputy coroners from five to two, and reduce the full-time administrative assistant to a part-time position.

Toftoy said such a reduction would hamper the ability of the office to function properly due to the “24/7” nature of the position. 

Another issue was over whether or not deputy coroners should be allowed to carry firearms while on duty. Dabney accused at least one of the current deputy coroners of having firearms training paid for by the county, which allowed that coroner to carry a firearm while on duty. Toftoy has said none of his deputy coroners went into the field armed.

Something that may have hurt Dabney in the polls was a report in the Ledger-Sentinel that revealed five disciplinary notices in Dabney’s employee file with the Oswego Fire Department. The disciplinary notices include three written warnings, an oral reprimand and a notice of suspension.

With the election behind him, Dabney said he will continue his duties with the Oswego Fire Department.

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