Objection to Arlington Hts. man’s candidacy overturned

Democrats will indeed have a candidate to challenge Republican state Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights in the November election.

The Cook County Clerk’s electoral board Tuesday overruled the objection to Curt Renz’s nominating petitions, securing his place on the ballot in the race for the newly drawn 53rd House District seat. Cook County Clerk spokeswoman Gail Siegel said the board’s written decision won’t be available until next week.

The objection was filed by Maureen Falcon, a GOP precinct captain in Wheeling and Elk Grove townships. The Mount Prospect resident said that Renz, of Arlington Heights, failed to file the proper slating notification, and that he fell 48 signatures short of the required 500 valid entries needed.

Renz campaign volunteer coordinator Frank Marino criticized the objection.

“I don’t know what’s worse: that Republican operatives would file such an obviously frivolous case and waste so much taxpayer money, or that the incumbent, Dave Harris, would allow his party to go so far with these baseless attacks against his fellow veteran,” Marino said.

Renz, a Vietnam War veteran who wrote a financial book and anchored a local financial TV news program, said volunteers spent more than 30 hours revisiting voters and reconfirming their registrations to defend his petitions.

A candidate in the 27th District, who like Renz was slated in May after no one ran in the Democratic primary, also faces a petition challenge.

The electoral board will meet Wednesday, July 11, for a hearing on David Page’s nominating petitions. He’s running against state Sen. Matt Murphy. A second hearing will take place that day for a challenge to Gary Dunlap, a Constitution Party member also challenging Murphy.

The 53rd House District includes portions of Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights.