State Sen. Napoleon Harris and members of his Democratic slate were far ahead of other candidates seeking positions on the Thornton Township Board, according to unofficial results Wednesday morning from the Cook County clerk’s office.

With all precincts reporting, Harris had 74%, followed by Independent candidate Nate Fields with 10.7%, Republican Richard Nolan with 10.3% and Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark with 4.7%.

Harris declared victory to a room of jubilant supporters at Beggars Pizza in Lansing on Tuesday night, thanking each member of his slate as well as supported candidates in Dolton and in school board races.

“You guys deserve the very best,” Harris told his supporters.” This is an opportunity to unite. It’s an opportunity to move forward.”

A spokesperson for Harris said the new board will be sworn in a the first meeting after results are certified on April 22.

Harris said he would not “litigate the past,” but ensured voters that he would listen to them, “because they are the ones who sent us in these offices that we seek, and they are also the ones who hold us accountable.”

“As an elected official, we have to get over ourselves,” Harris said. “We have to get over the process of ego and just doing it for you. We have to do it for everybody.”

“I’m thankful for each and every one of you who voted for me and those who criticize me, because it makes me better.”

As supervisor, Harris would be responsible for providing social services and organizing events within Thornton Township’s 17 municipalities.

Incumbent Supervisor Tiffany Henyard was not listed on the ballot though was attempting a write-in campaign. Henyard faced legal and voter approval challenges both in her township race and in Dolton, where she is mayor.

Harris beat out Henyard for the Democratic nomination during the party’s caucus in December, which he organized and presided over as committeeman for the Thornton Township Democrats.

Henyard has continued seeking support in the supervisor race through social media, encouraging township residents to write her name in as supervisor in videos on Facebook. Henyard evaded questions from reporters who approached her after she voted at Diekman School Tuesday afternoon.

Trustee candidates on Harris’ Democratic slate include incumbent Trustee Christopher Gonzalez, seeking reelection, as well as Mary Avent, Valeria Stubbs and Byron Stanley. According to unofficial results, all four were leading Tuesday evening. Stanley had 10,729 votes, Gonzalez had 10,566 and Avent and Stubbs both had 10,418.

Harris also aligned himself with Casey Nesbit, running unopposed for township clerk, Cassandra Holbert Elston, running unopposed for assessor, and Antwon Russell, challenged by Republican Tim DeYoung for highway commissioner.

DeYoung is part of a larger Republican slate led by Nolan, who hoped to capitalize on many residents’ disillusionment with Henyard, a Democrat. Trustee candidates were Carl V. Dombrowski, who had 2,111 votes Tuesday night, Kesha Richardson with 2,025 votes, Jeffrey Coleman with 1,944 votes and David J. Barnes with 1,875 votes.

Walking out of Dolton’s Diekman Elementary School polling location Tuesday afternoon, Kieanji Williams said she voted for “anybody but a Democrat.”

“Historically, Black people vote for Democrats just because they think that these people made us free,” Williams, 27, said. “I think we need a little bit more change in our voting behavior so it’s not like free votes, like they already know that they got us in the bag.”

According to data from the federal Census Bureau, of Thornton Township’s nearly 158,000 population, about 70% are Black, 15% are Hispanic or Latino, and 14% are white.

The third slate of candidates, filed under the Reform Thornton Township Party, was led by Harvey Mayor Clark. Clark announced in February they were withdrawing from the race but their names still appeared on the ballot.

Others on Clark’s slate were trustee candidates Dominique Randle-El, who had 1,426 votes Tuesday, David Clay with 1,072 votes, Jacinta J. Gholston with 989 votes and Rachel Jones with 602 votes. Randle-El is Harvey’s 5th Ward alderman.

Clark did not respond to questions about why his name was not removed form the ballot. Avent, on the Democratic ticket, said Tuesday it was “a snake move” on his part.

“It splits the vote,” Avent said outside of the Diekman School polling place. “I think that was done intentionally.”

Independent candidate Fields returned to the ballot in January thanks to a Cook County circuit court ruling. He was previously removed by the township electoral board for failing to bind his statement of candidacy with his nomination petitions.

Misspending and lack of transparency were chief concerns among Henyard’s critics on the board of trustees and residents who have frequently overflowed the township hall for board meetings.

“We need to have more transparency — we need to be included in the changes that are made,” Dolton resident Marilyn Starks, 59, said after voting Tuesday.

Successful candidates for the South Suburban College were acknowledged at Harris’ slate’s election party Tuesday. Two seats were open, with Prince Reed leading with 10,749 votes followed by Tyhani Hill with 7,850 votes.

Henyard’s attorney, Max Solomon, trailed with 6,886 votes, followed by former Dolton Mayor Riley Rogers, with 6,712 votes, and Vincent E. Lockett with 6,391 votes.

ostevens@chicagotribune .com