The DuPage Township Officers Electoral Board recently determined that three people seeking to run for DuPage Township trustee seats did not meet the qualifications to appear on the ballot.
The electoral board consisted of DuPage Township Supervisor William Mayer, Township Clerk and Wayne Kwiat, who is a well-known attorney and former committeeman for the Republican Party in the DuPage Township who was appointed to the board.
The board's decision was prompted by objections filed by Mary Spiros against several candidates who were running as independents. She alleged that the candidates did not fulfill the requirements for running for office in the township.
Township trustee candidates Traci Falese, Cecilia Loeza, Jennifer Sanneman and Carol Simpson, and Township Supervisor candidate Shirley Grzenia belong to the group Voices United for DuPage Township, which maintains a social media presence on Facebook.
Grzenia took to social media on Jan 28, after the electoral board's decision, and said, "After braving the harsh elements going door to door to obtain the signatures needed to get us on the ballot, they (the board) dismissed them and said they were not valid. We collected a total of 2,377 signatures (for all five candidates), we were required to collect a total of 1,625 (for all five candidates) collecting 752 more than required. We went back to many of those citizens with a notary to have them sign an affidavit that their signature was really theirs, and they still decided they were invalid signatures, all in an effort to kick us off the ballot and silence you the taxpayers."
Despite the group's efforts, the electoral board found that three of the candidates were ineligible to run for office and their names will not appear on the April 4 ballot.
The electoral board found objections to Simpson's petition left her 10 signatures short of the legally required amount to remain on the ballot. Falese's petition also did not have enough signatures; she was 47 short of the required number.
The electoral board found that Loeza did not meet the residency requirements. A candidate must reside within the township for a minimum of one year. Loeza voted in Kendall County last year and only recently became a Will County voter. In addition, she lacked enough valid signatures due in part to an invalid page, which was circulated by a friend but signed by Loeza as the circulator.
The State of Illinois Candidate Guide states in part that "a petition circulator ... must personally witness all signatures given and sign the certificate required stating that all signatures were taken in his or her presence. No one may be considered a circulator of any petition page except the person who signs the circulator’s statement."
In addition to the three candidates being removed from the ballot, Sanneman and Grzenia were awaiting final decisions on the challenges to their candidacies.
While Township Supervisor Mayer heard the other cases, Township Trustee Ken Burgess, Alyssia Benford and Stach heard Grzenia's case. Grzenia is running against Mayer in the April 4 election.
While the independent candidates mounted their campaigns against the incumbents in DuPage Township, Homer Township has a solid slate of Republicans running for the clerk position and four trustee seats in the Feb. 28 primary. Incumbent Clerk Linsey Sowa faces Skip Skobuton while Vicki Bozen, Edward Kalas, John Kruczek, Christina Neitzke and Ron Svara are vying for the four trustee seats.
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