April 19, 2024
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Gary Orlandi wins Dalzell mayoral race

Gloria Orlandi to fill his seat on village board

By Tom Collins

Dalzell Mayor Gloria Orlandi will move to a trustee's role after serving as mayor for more than two decades. Trustee Gary Orlandi will take over as mayor.

Dalzell’s new mayor says the village is in good shape and he wants to keep it that way. Gary Orlandi pledges to extend the life expectancy of the infrastructure and to find a way to fund it.

Orlandi was elected village president with nearly 52% of a three-way race that drew 62% of the vote, according to the Bureau County Clerk’s Office. James Turigliatti trailed Orlandi’s 157 votes with a tally of 132, and Dale Ammons finished with 5% of the vote.

“I think what set me apart is the work I do for the schools and the parks and being a lifelong resident of Dalzell,” Orlandi said. “It was a good race.”

Gary Orlandi, 51, is a married father of two students at Hall High School. He was appointed to a two-year term eight years ago and heaped praise on former Mayor Gloria Orlandi and past boards for strong maintenance and oversight.

“We’re not having any troubles right now, but we want to be prepared for the future,” he said of the village’s infrastructure. He also hopes to build a new shelter at the War Memorial, which is by the grade school.

Gloria, he said, will return to the village board. Though she finished fourth in a field of five seeking three open seats — trailing Thomas Bender, Luke Simpson and Mark Dzierzynski — Gloria Orlandi will, by virtue of her next-best finish, take Gary’s old seat on the village board and serve a two-year term.