Election 2013: 2 Darien Residents Challenging for D86 School Board Seats

The Hinsdale South parent who filed a curriculum objection with District 86 over the showing of American Beauty and Brokeback Mountain this fall filed papers Monday to enter this spring's District 86 Board of Education race, according to the district's administration.

Victor Casini, who first spoke to the board in September about his opposition to the movies being show in a Hinsdale South film class and later filed a formal objection with Superintendent Nick Wahl, was one of six people who filed to run Monday, the first day candidates could do so. The filing period for the April 9 ballot ends Dec. 26.

Three of the four current board members whose terms expire in April were among the first-day filers, according to assistant to the superintendent Meredith Lannert. Claudia Manley, who ran in 2010 as part of the slate that included Richard Skoda and Bruce Davidson, also filed.

The six candidates who filed Monday, Lannert said, were:

• Jennifer Babbington of Darien
• Victor Casini of Burr Ridge
• Claudia Manley of Darien 
• Dennis Brennan of Hinsdale (incumbent)
• Deirdre “DeeDee” Gorgol of Willowbrook (incumbent) 
• Kay Gallo of Clarendon Hills (incumbent)

Babbington, Casini and Manley filed simultaneously, Lannert said. That means the order in which those three names will appear on the ballot will be determined by a lottery.

The three incumbents filed later in the day, in the order above. 

For more on Casini's objection, see the links below:

• D86 Movie Controversy: Parent's Appeal Goes Before Board Monday
• READ: D86 Parent Appealing Superintendent's Ruling on Objection to Sex-Heavy Movies
• READ: How Does a Curriculum Objection Work in District 86?
• D86 Board Decision on Racy Movies Not What Most Audience Members Wanted
• Complaints About Sex-Heavy Films in School Prompt Cops to Review District Emails