Roselle trustee still fighting to kick four off ballot
Maybe the third time will be the charm for Kory Atkinson.
With two prior rulings against him, the Roselle village board member said Wednesday he’s asked an appeals court to review his objections to four candidates seeking local offices.
The move means yet another round of challenges for mayoral hopefuls James Banks and Jim Schelling and trustee hopefuls Carrie Dahlstrom and Robert Roddy.
The candidates all erred in their nomination filings but so far remain on the April 9 ballot, thanks to earlier rulings by the Roselle electoral board and a DuPage County judge.
“I’m doing this because I’m a very by-the-book person,” Atkinson said of his latest appeal. “I had to comply with all the statutes and rules to run for office. It should be an even playing field.”
Atkinson wants Banks and Schelling yanked from the ballot because neither collected enough signatures on their nominating papers. They survived previous challenges because the village clerk miscalculated how many signatures they needed.
Dahlstrom and Roddy, meanwhile, are under fire for filing paperwork in Cook County, where they live, rather than DuPage. Roselle straddles both counties, but the candidates should have filed in DuPage because it contains most of Roselle. Officials have ruled the errors weren’t egregious or ill willed.
Atkinson, an attorney, asked in court papers filed Monday for the 2nd District Appellate Court in Elgin to expedite proceedings because the election is approaching. He said case law and election rules clearly support removing the candidates.
“The 2nd District might not agree with me, but we’ll see what they have to say,” he said.
Pat Bond, attorney for the Roselle electoral board, said he believes the earlier rulings were correct, but Atkinson is within his rights pushing the issue to appeal.
“It’s an unfortunate waste of resources to have this drawn out, but the process is there and people can take advantage of it,” he said. “I don’t think it will alter the outcome.”
So far, the objections have cost Roselle about $21,600 in court costs and legal fees, according to the village. Atkinson said he’s also spent thousands.
With Dahlstrom and Roddy out of the race, it would leave Atkinson and fellow incumbents Andy Maglio and Terrence Wittman defending their trustee spots against challenger Patrick Devitt. With Banks and Schelling off the ballot, it would be a two-way contest for mayor between incumbent Gayle Smolinski and village board member Ronald Baker.