GENEVA – Tom Simonian spent almost $27,000 in his unsuccessful campaign for Geneva mayor in the April 6 Consolidated Election, losing to incumbent Kevin Burns, who spent – zero, nada, nothing – according to first quarter financial filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Burns won a sixth term with 2,523 votes. Simonian, who received 2,179 votes, lost by 344 votes – or about $12.39 per vote. In the 2017 match-up Burns received 3,921 votes to Simonian’s 2,418, a difference of 1,503, according to Kane County Clerk election records.

But while Burns did not raise or spend money in his campaign, the Illinois Realtors Fund PAC paid nearly $8,000 for mailings and phone calls for Burns, records show.

Was it worth it this time?

“Yes, it was worth it,” Simonian said. “We came close. The third time will be a charm, so they say. I’ll see him in four years. We closed the gap pretty good in four years. In all honesty, if the Sterling Manor folk had come out to vote - hands down – I would have won. We sent letters to 1,700 people there in the neighborhood. "

Simonian heavily campaigned in that subdivision, supporting the residents who opposed the Emma’s Landing development.

In addition to $33,758 Simonian had left over from his failed 2017 mayoral run – of the $75,000 he invested in the campaign – he also received donations from residents, such as $479.70 from former District 304 school board member Dr. Rodney Nelson and $191.70 from former 4th Ward alderman Ron Singer, records show.

Most of Simonian’s cash, nearly $23,000, went to pay Strive Strategies Group, an Oak Brook consulting firm, records show.

Burns, who won a sixth term as mayor, confirmed that he used yard signs from previous campaigns and that he, his daughter and his girlfriend did their own work on social media, but declined to comment further.