C'ville trustee will get chance at re-election
CARPENTERSVILLE — Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski will get a shot at re-election April 7 after all.
She and her attorney, Matt Flamm, successfully defended a challenge to her nominating petition Friday after the village's electoral board initially had ruled that Ramirez-Sliwinski fell short of the required 148 valid voter signatures.
The electoral board initially rejected 45 petition signatures that had been challenged by resident Frank Stoneham. Stoneham, who challenged six candidates' petitions in all, claimed Ramirez-Sliwinski's petition contained forgeries, were signed by people who are not residents of the village or registered voters, or that signatures were printed rather than signed.
The electoral board -- composed of Village President Bill Sarto, Trustee Judy Sigwalt and Village Clerk Terri Wilde -- earlier this week said it could not find at least 45 of Ramirez-Sliwinski's signatures in Kane County voting records, leaving her six shy of the 148 required to appear on the ballot.
On Friday, however, Ramirez-Sliwinski provided affidavits and other evidence showing at least 11 of the signatures stricken from her petition were those of registered voters and that the board had rejected four other signatures in error.
The board reinstated the four signatures that Stoneham argued were printed and not signed after Flamm and Village Attorney Michael Duggan agreed that a signature could not be disqualified because it was printed.
Ramirez-Sliwinski had enough approved signatures after she presented affidavits from two residents who signed her petitions.
Sigwalt called the objection process flawed and said she could not vote to accept signatures when she knew they were not registered voters.
"Whether the law states I can do it or not, I cannot allow an unregistered voter's signature," Sigwalt said.
Ramirez-Sliwinski will join trustee candidates Bradford McFeggan, Patricia Schultz, Kenneth Andresen, Joseph Haimann and Debra Lowen, along with incumbent Kay Teeter on the ballot April 7. Candidates for village president include Sarto, Trustee Ed Ritter and James Krenz.
