Coyne calls for voters to flip County Clerk’s Office amid Garcia scandal: 'The Democrats have destroyed our Clerk's office'

DuPage County Republican Chairman Kevin Coyne said Democratic Clerk candidate Paula Deacon Garcia’s reported use of an official government Facebook page for campaign activity is the latest example of mismanagement in the county’s elections office ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

“The Democrats have destroyed our Clerk's office. They've done it through incompetence, recklessness, and lack of transparency,” Coyne told the DuPage Policy Journal. 

The controversy stems from Garcia, who is currently a DuPage County Board member, using the Facebook page associated with her official government role to share campaign-related content, including a message asking for voter support in the March 17 primary and directing users to her campaign page for updates, Patch reported. 

Garcia acknowledged the issue and said she would remove the posts, describing the incident to Patch as “a rookie mistake” and adding that she is “clearer now with the boundaries.”

Illinois law prohibits public officials and employees from using government time or resources for campaign activity, requiring a clear separation between official duties and political efforts under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430/5-15).

Coyne emphasized the importance of the office’s role in administering elections. 

“This office is responsible for overseeing our elections,” Coyne said. “We need change and we need competency. Keeping it blue clearly will not offer the positive change this office desperately needs.” 

Garcia will face Republican Patty Kladis-Schiappa in the November general election, with the contest expected to focus heavily on election administration, ethics and public trust in the clerk’s office.

“Either Garcia didn't know you couldn't make campaign posts to an official government page or she knew and did it any way. Either way, she offered yet another good example as to why voters should vote for Patty Kladis-Schiappa,” Coyne said. 

DuPage GOP chair Kevin Coyne calls for election reform amid criticism of Paula Deacon Garcia’s alleged misuse of an official government Facebook page for campaign activity. (Facebook / DuPage County Republicans)

DuPage County Republicans echoed Coyne’s criticism in a Facebook post saying “Let’s bring competence back to our Clerk’s office!” 

“Looks like the new boss would be the same as the old boss,’ Dupage County GOP said on Facebook. “Mistakes, investigations, blunders, lawsuits. The Democrats have completely obliterated our Clerk’s office. These folks run our elections! We need complete change!”

The race follows the March 17 Democratic primary in which Paula Deacon Garcia overwhelmingly defeated incumbent Jean Kaczmarek. Garcia received 54,761 votes to Kaczmarek’s 42,670.

Kaczmarek was first elected to the office in 2018. In the aftermath, Dupage County has experienced a steady leftward drift. 

During her time in office, Kaczmarek has faced multiple controversies, including a 2025 DuPage County Board censure over financial mismanagement involving delayed vendor payments, a budget shortfall, and a reported 40% increase in staff salaries over five years. She is also the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office involving allegations of no-bid contracts totaling roughly $229,000 and mismanagement of election-related spending.

Her office has additionally been criticized for a voter database error during the March 17 primary that reportedly altered a family’s last name, nearly preventing them from voting, as well as broader concerns raised by political figures and election integrity advocates about administrative competence and oversight.

Coyne previously questioned Kaczmarek over her election-related messaging, including warnings during the primary about potential immigration enforcement near polling places and broader claims about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at DuPage County voting sites.

“The Clerk’s position [was] about grandstanding, not public safety,” Coyne said after Kaczmarek’s loss. 

He added that if non-citizens are not voting unlawfully, there should be no concern about ICE agents being present at polling locations. 

"This is just another example of the political left trying to advance themselves by demonizing law enforcement,” Coyne said. “It’s tired, self-indulgent, and is an insult to every man and woman who wears a badge.”