Democrats voted off County Board ballot

A three-person electoral board voted Thursday to remove four Democratic candidates for Lake County Board from the November ballot, arguing that proper procedures were not followed in slating the candidates.

Lake County Democratic Party officials say they may appeal the ruling in court.

Meanwhile, a separate objection has been filed on the candidacy of Democrat Terry Hall of Gurnee, who is challenging state Rep. Sandy Cole, R-Grayslake, in the 62nd District. The objection was filed by Lake County Board member Bob Powers of Round Lake Beach. A hearing on that objection is scheduled 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Lake County Courthouse.

The electoral board, composed of county Clerk Willard Helander, Circuit Court Clerk Sally Coffelt and Meg Marcouiler of the state's attorney's office, held hearings Thursday on objections filed by different groups of local Republicans against four Democratic candidates in County Board districts 3, 5, 10 and 20.

The Democratic candidates are Davita Siegel of Buffalo Grove, who is seeking to challenge David Stolman, R-20th, of Buffalo Grove; Sari Ann Hurtig of Mundelein, who is vying for the seat held by Diana O'Kelly, R-10th, of Mundelein; Mark Nielsen of Round Lake Beach, who was slated to run against County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt, R-3rd, of Lake Villa; and Steve Pearson of Ingleside, who is vying for the seat held by Bonnie Thomson Carter, R-5th, of Ingleside.

The candidates were slated by Lake County Democratic Central Committee to fill ballot vacancies after the Feb. 5 primary.

The board ruled unanimously in favor of the objectors' challenges in District 3, 5 and 10 and to remove Hurtig, Nielsen and Pearson from the ballot. They voted 2-1 to remove Siegel from the ballot, with Coffelt casting the dissenting vote.

John Fogarty, attorney for the objectors, argued the Central Committee did not have authority to slate candidates in Districts 3, 5 and 10, and that those nominations are supposed to be done by committees composed of precinct committeemen from each district. In District 20, a committee of precinct committeemen was formed to nominate candidates, but the nominating papers listed an incorrect date for when the candidate was slated.

Christopher Kennedy, the attorney representing the candidates, said election law allows the Central Committee to nominate county board candidates in areas where there are no or very few precinct committeemen. He also called the incorrect date on the Siegel petition an honest "scriber's error" that had no affect on the integrity of the nominating process.

The candidates will have 10 days to appeal the electoral board's decision to Lake County Circuit Court once a written decision is filed.

Peter Couvall, first vice chairman of the Lake County Democratic Party, said the party will definitely appeal the Siegel ruling and may appeal all of the cases once it's had a chance to review each case with their attorney. He called the objections a politically motivated attempt by Republicans to remove Democrats from the ballot.

"I think they're scared out of their minds," he said. "It's a Democratic year and they don't want opposition."

But Lake County Republican Central Committee Chairman Dan Venturi said it's common practice for both political parties to look at the nominating papers of candidates and make sure election rules are followed.

"That's part of our job as a political party to ensure that proper procedures are followed in order for someone to get on the ballot," he said.