Dupage Policy Journal

Kevin Coyne, founder of the Safe Suburbs PAC, is celebrating the PAC”s achievements in Naperville in the April 4 election.

Though the group's endorsed candidates 'faced a great disadvantage due to Naperville’s shifting political demographics, all 7 had very impressive finishes where 4 won seats on City Council and a 5th lost by less than 1 point.'  

“Safe Suburbs USA started in Naperville in 2020 and largely in response to a local political trend that we found dismissive of police concerns and the warnings raised by the DuPage County and Will County SAs as to the SAFE T Act,” Coyne said on Twitter. “Since then, we have endorsed and aggressively supported 7 Naperville Council candidates. All 7 were Right-leaning non-incumbents running against largely Left-leaning candidates in a city that both Biden and Pritzker won by over 20 points each. Uphill battles to say the least.” 

Coyne trusts “These new councilmen, once paired with Mayor-elect and FOP endorsed Scott Wehrli, give Naperville an exceptionally strong pro-police council." He said they "see no chance that this new majority will be dismissive of police concerns nor remain passive should future threats to public safety, such as the SAFE T Act, arise.” 

“We are thrilled with this year’s local election results and are very proud of whatever impact we had in producing them. We look forward to future election successes, both in Naperville and throughout Chicagoland,” Coyne added.

In the wake of the election Coyne, a former Naperville councilman, said it was “a very good night in Naperville and a couple of other communities for our supported candidates.” Safe Suburbs endorsed Josh McBroom, Meghna Bansal, Nag Jaiswal, and Nate Wilson for Naperville City Council. The council race featured a crowded field. In an updated report from Positively Naperville, McBroom won with 13,162 votes and 11.97% of the electorate. Wilson, who had a 41-lead over Bansal, also won with 10,430 and 9.49% of the vote. Other endorsees, Bansal and Jaiswal, lost. The campaign featured controversy after Coyne and others called out Naperville council member Theresa Sullivan over the Naperville Forward mailer for misleading voters. Sullivan runs the Naper Forward PAC, which supports leftist politics.

Naperville mayor-elect Scott Wehrli, a part-time law enforcement officer, defeated councilman Benny White in the April 4 election. 

“We worked so hard to represent every voice in this community, and that’s been the amazing part of this journey — meeting so many wonderful people and learning so much about different groups, different cultures, different facets of this Naperville that we know that I never understood,” Wehrli said at his election party, DuPage Policy Journal previously reported. 

On his website, Wehrli said maintaining a safe, livable community was his first goal. “We work hard to be called one of the safest cities in America. Living without constant fear of street crime is a prime reason people live, move, shop and do business here,” Wehrli’s website reads.

Safe Suburbs USA notes on its website that it “promotes public safety and the welfare of suburban residents throughout the USA by advocating and educating on issues relating to crime and its effect on suburban families. We recommend and promote agencies, candidates and programs which promote public safety and the rule of law.”

The Naperville City Council will be sworn in on April 30.