Batavia candidate who filed in two races has choice to make
Ron Rechenmacher has filed petitions to serve on the Batavia City Council and the Batavia school board, but it seems that may not be possible.
And doing both jobs at the same time is not what he has in mind.
According to 30-year-old opinion from the state attorney general, the offices are incompatible.
"I knew that. I know the rules," Rechenmacher said Tuesday.
He filed for both offices because he wanted to make sure there was competition in the races, and because people suggested he run for the offices.
"I do believe voters should have a choice," he said.
He was first interested in the 6th Ward seat on the city council. He ran unsuccessfully for alderman in 2013.
Rechenmacher said he hopes in the next week to meet with Michael Russotto, the other person running for the 6th Ward, to learn his positions. That, and seeing who else runs for the offices, will help him decide from which race to withdraw.
He may run as a team with two other candidates - Michelle Olache and Bill Gabriel - for school board, he said.
"Nobody is suggesting that I hold both offices. That would be too much," Rechenmacher said.
Compatibility
In 1985, then-Attorney General Neil Hartigan opined that being on a city council and a school board would be a conflict because situations may arise in which the person could not act both in the best interest of the city and the best interest of the school district.
The conflict could occur when considering matters such as contracts and land sales between the school district and the city, according to the opinion.
The City of Batavia and the school district have at least one contract. The school district buys fuel for its maintenance vehicles at the city's public works garage. And the school district is a customer of Batavia's water, sewage and electrical utilities.
The school district is affected by decisions the city council could make regarding other matters. The city is considering, for example, revising its land-cash donation ordinance to change the amount of land or money school districts would receive from new developments.
Most of Batavia is in the Batavia school district; some is in the Geneva and West Aurora districts.
According to the state board of elections, a candidate must withdraw from all but one of the incompatible offices within five days after the last day of filing. That would be Dec. 30. If the candidate does not, his name will be removed from both positions.
But Batavia City Clerk Heidi Wetzel has until Jan. 29 to certify the city's list of candidates to the Kane County clerk.
"I would not have known until Jan. 29th," Kane County Elections Director Suzanne Fahnestock said Tuesday, but for the inquiry by the Daily Herald.
The normal procedure would be for her office to look up the attorney general's opinions, she said. But since the deadline for withdrawing would have passed by then, she would also consult with the Kane County state's attorney's office about whether to remove the candidate's name.
"It's a sticky wicket as far as determining specific ones (incompatibilities)," Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said.