Acting River Grove mayor defeats genital-piercing rivalApril 6, 2005
BY SCOTT FORNEK AND MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporters
Vagina piercings and tattoos appeared to be a bigger deal Tuesday to voters in northwest suburban River Grove than swimming pools or Kiddieland.
Ending one of the more bizarre suburban mayoral races, acting Village President Marilynn May stomped challenger Paul Collurafici, a tattoo parlor owner who argued the suburb was being left behind but found his occupation a bigger campaign issue.
May beat Collurafici 81 percent to 19 percent with all of the precincts tallied.
"I felt that I would win, but I was surprised at the percentage -- that it was so high," May told reporters outside her victory party at the Loon Cafe in the northwest suburb. "I'm just overwhelmed."
Collurafici conceded shortly before 8 p.m., telling supporters: "We got beat really bad. Congratulations Marilynn. She deserves it."
May, 55, and Collurafici, 44, were vying to succeed longtime Village President Thomas J. Tarpey Sr., who died last year.
A former village trustee, May was appointed to the top job when Tarpey died. Collurafici attacked her on everything from her connections to Rosemont Mayor Donald Stephens to the village's lack of parks and swimming pools to long past leaders' failure to annex the land on which the lucrative amusement park Kiddieland stands.
Called a 'political whore'
May argued that Collurafici was fixated on ancient history and knew nothing about the village or its government. But one of her supporters, Village Trustee Raymond Bernero, had much harsher words, calling Collurafici "a political whore" who "will do anything for a vote."
Bernero accused Collurafici of trying to hide his ownership of the Tattoo Factory, an Uptown business that provides both tattoos and body piercings.
Bernero questioned why Collurafici made no mention of his tattoo studio on his campaign Web site and why he removed photos of pierced vaginas, nipples and other body parts from his company's Web site after launching his mayoral campaign.
"I'm a big fan of vaginas, but this is really gross stuff," Bernero told the Sun-Times. "This is close-ups of women's vaginas with stuff stuck through there."
Bernero later sent a letter to the Sun-Times, apologizing if he offended anyone but sticking by his "blunt honesty" in attacking Collurafici's honesty.
"Finally, please let your readers know that there is no 'fan club,' " Bernero wrote. "It was a joke. All requests for membership, along with submitted dues, will be returned promptly."
Collurafici said reaction to "what we call 'the Ray Bernero vagina article' " had been three-to-one in his favor.
"For every one saying 'It's disgusting, how could you run a tattoo parlor?' three think Ray Bernero is an a------," Collurafici said. "They want to know why that is all they talk about, that I own a tattoo parlor."
Tattooed fans come out
About a quarter of the two dozen supporters at Collurafici's election night party sported tattoos, ranging from Grim Reapers and skulls to naked women. One supporter who identified himself as "Tattoo Mike" had Frankenstein-style electrodes inked on his neck.
Collurafici says he has no tattoos or piercings, but inherited the business from his brother, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1996.
Bernero wasn't buying.
"He said he kept the shop as a memorial to his dead brother," Bernero said. "Most people light a candle. You don't pierce vaginas."
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