Two Des Plaines electoral boards to hear aldermanic candidate objections Friday
Des Plaines' electoral board will meet Friday night to begin the process of hearing objections to the petitions of aldermanic candidates Don Smith and Mark Setzer.
But in a weird twist, there actually will be two electoral boards convened.
Bob Porada, who is running against 7th Ward Alderman Smith, and 4th Ward Alderman Dick Sayad, who is running against Setzer, have challenged their opponents' petitions - challenges that could result in Smith and Setzer being removed from the April 7 ballot.
Porada and Sayad say they noticed things on their opponents' petitions they believe are not in line with state election laws.
Smith and Sayad, as the two most senior aldermen on the city council, will get to sit on separate three-member panels to hear objections on the petitions of the other.
Mayor Matt Bogusz and City Clerk Gloria Ludwig also sit on both boards, though the objectors say they shouldn't be allowed to participate because of potential conflicts of interest.
Sayad and Porada filed a motion asking that Bogusz be disqualified from participating because they believe he has expressed or exhibited support for their opponents in the past.
Bogusz appointed Smith to the city council after the death of 29-year-old Alderman Joanna Sojka in August. Smith had previously served on the council from 1997 to 2009.
Sayad, meanwhile, is one of Bogusz's most vocal critics.
Porada filed a motion asking that Ludwig be disqualified from the panel because she serves with Smith on the Frisbie Senior Center board of directors.
Bogusz and Ludwig said they'll disclose their opinions on the matter during Friday's meetings. A majority vote of each three-member panel will determine whether Bogusz and Ludwig stay or go.
If the mayor or clerk don't stay on the electoral board, one of the challengers or a member of the public would be able to file a petition with the chief judge of the Cook County circuit court, who could appoint someone from the public to the board.
Peter Friedman, the city's general counsel, said Friday's sessions serve as organizational meetings during which the motions to disqualify the mayor and clerk will be heard. The panels will schedule subsequent meetings to formally hear the objections to Smith and Setzer's petitions.
Friedman said the process should be completed by Feb. 9, when ballot information is due to county officials.
Meanwhile, members of the city council on Monday debated a proposal by 8th Ward Alderman Mike Charewicz that would require a petition challenger to reimburse the city's resulting legal fees.
The city paid Friedman's law firm, Holland & Knight, $28,286 in 2013 related to the petition challenge process.
"I just want to make sure the city has a way to protect against some of the frivolous challenges that may come from any candidate," Charewicz said.
Sayad said he exercised his right as a citizen of Des Plaines to file objections, and believed the city's legal fees were necessary expenditures.
"I'm surprised you brought it up at this time," Sayad told Charewicz. "I don't think we should circumvent the opportunity for residents - and I'm a resident - to challenge."
The first board meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday at city hall, 1420 Miner St. The second is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m.