Two Round Lake Beach Democrats are battling to make history as the first-ever Latinx commissioner elected to the Lake County Board.

Realtor Yesenia Jaycee Ochoa and Navy Corpsman and pension analyst Esiah Campos are both prioritizing adequate representation for District 16′s Spanish-speaking population.

“The census might not show it because maybe a lot of people don’t open the door or fill out the census, but our community is very diverse,” Ochoa said. “Mostly Hispanic, Mexican community, so I just thought they really needed a face that looks like them, speaks like them and can represent them at the Lake County Board level.”

Lake County and District 16 — which mostly covers Round Lake, Round Lake Beach and Round Lake Park — have become more diverse in the decades since the county began directly electing County Board members in 1970. But that hasn’t translated into representation at the county level.

“The Latino community, especially in District 16, is growing,” Campos said. “And it’s getting younger. Younger families are coming to buy homes here in Round Lake Beach and all the Round Lake (communities), and we’ve yet to have our fair representation.

“With that type of voting power, we should have mayors, we should have trustees and we should have board members all around, but that’s not the case,” he added.

Both candidates are distancing themselves from outgoing District 16 commissioner Terry Wilke, who is running to represent the 62nd District in the Illinois House of Representatives. The winner of the primary election on June 28 will face Round Lake Heights Republican Edward Liberman, who is unopposed in his primary.

Ochoa ran for Avon Township clerk in 2021 on a slate of candidates called Avon Community Engaged, which included Wilke, who ran for reelection as the township’s supervisor. Both Ochoa and Wilke lost their respective races.

“For him to pick someone close to him already, that’s too close to Terry Wilke for comfort,” Campos said. “She will be one and the same. Many people have quietly told me that.”

Ochoa played down her ties to Wilke, emphasizing a need for new leadership, particularly from a candidate who can understand and engage the area’s Spanish speakers.

“The same person had been sitting there for 20 years, so there was really no political engagement; there was no interest,” Ochoa said. “I’ve always been interested in it, but it’s that heart of service. You just want to be out there. I’m a person of action, so I’m always out there doing and speaking to people all the time. It was just so needed. This is the time.”

Ochoa said Campos was “hand-picked” to fill Wilke’s seat, and added that Campos lacked her record of community involvement and doesn’t have enough name recognition in conversations along the campaign trail.

“I’m in the community, so I do ask, ‘Have you guys heard of Esiah?’” Ochoa said. “All the government (entities), they have not heard of him. He’s not rooted into the community, into the service, and I just don’t see his commitment here. I don’t see he has done the work, and I think I have done the work.”

Ochoa estimates that she and her daughter filled nearly 200 “baskets of hope” with food and essential items, which they donated to residents in need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she is also an active member and volunteer at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Round Lake.

At 26 years old, Campos would also be the youngest member of the Lake County Board. That won’t be an obstacle, he said.

“My age is actually the greatest asset to me,” Campos said. “The board is made up of many people that are from a different generation. There needs to be new ideas, new ways of thinking, that perhaps the older generation just cannot see.”

Growing up in a military and pro-union household, Campos said he has long been involved in grassroots campaigning and has the organizational strength to take on the position and quickly adapt.

Campos worked on Round Lake Beach mayoral candidate Nitai Pandya’s campaign in 2021, and said he met with officials like Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg and current District 62 statehouse representative Sam Yingling to speak about law enforcement and legislative topics that affect the county.

Blending her experience as a Realtor and as a member of the Lake County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Ochoa believes she has the business acumen and knowledge to help businesses thrive and address the lack of available housing.

“I have seen how hard it is to get affordable housing,” Ochoa said. “We’ve just run out of homes, bottom line.”

“I’m a Realtor,” Ochoa said. “I’m a mom. I know the needs of our children. I’m a small-business owner. I have worked very hard in not just service, but in my everyday work I do. I would like (voters) to know that I’m truly a person that cares, a person that will be committed.”

Campos wants District 16 to get its “fair share” of a $122 million stormwater infrastructure grant after the Round Lake area wasn’t included in any of 14 initial projects in the $30 million first wave of funding, which comes from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

“In 2017, the Round Lake area had some of the worst flooding in Lake County,” Campos said. “People do not deserve to be uprooted from their homes because the board member, or Lake County as a whole, failed them by not providing the adequate infrastructure that they needed.”

Campos is pushing for the Lake County Board to suspend or repeal its four-cent gas tax, and plans to look into ways to alleviate residents’ property tax payments. He said he’ll fight for Round Lake businesses, which he said didn’t get as much assistance when the pandemic halted or significantly slowed commerce.

“South of Rollins (Road) is not invested in,” Campos said. “The COVID relief (funding) did not reach a lot of our businesses like it did in the wealthier towns in Lake County. I think that’s a problem.”

Ochoa also stressed her commitment to a “balanced budget” and emphasized the need for improved transparency. Many residents, Ochoa said, don’t know their County Board representative or what the board does.

She plans to start a regular newsletter for the district, and wants to get the board to provide closed captions for meetings in Spanish and English.

“What you’re doing really is you’re taking the voice of the people (to the board),” Ochoa said. “It’s what I can do for them through their voice. I will know their needs through their voice, so that’s what I’m taking to the Lake County Board.”

Campos touted an endorsement from Rep. Chuy García of Illinois’ 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and said the time is right for a new generation of political leaders to make an impact.

“At the end of the day, if you have the motivation to do something, you have the leadership, the right temperament and attitude, you can get it done,” Campos said. “That’s something I want to bring to the table.”