Lake GOP objects to Democrat candidates
Republican activists are trying to knock four Democratic candidates for Lake County Board seats off the November ballot.
In petitions filed Monday in Lake County circuit court, the objectors claimed all four Democrats' candidacies are invalid because they weren't nominated by committees of local precinct representatives, as required by law.
They also claimed one contender voted in the Feb. 5 Republican primary, and therefore isn't eligible to be a Democratic candidate.
"There are some technical requirements to getting on the ballot," said Dan Venturi, chairman of the county GOP organization. "We believe that if you're going to seek public office, you should, at a minimum, be able to meet these requirements."
The vice chairman of the county's Democratic Party, state Sen. Michael Bond, was aware of the challenges and said he hopes the paperwork checks out for all of the candidates.
Reviews of candidate petitions and nominations are "just normal due diligence on both sides," Bond said.
Democratic Party officials announced the four candidacies earlier this month. All are challenging veteran Republicans.
The party selected the candidates because no Democrats ran for the seats in the primary election. The candidates are:
• Mark Nielsen of Round Lake Beach. He's running for the 3rd District seat held by Suzi Schmidt.
• Steve Pearson of Ingleside. He's seeking the 5th District seat held by Bonnie Thomson Carter.
• Sari Hurtig of Mundelein. She's running for the 10th District post held by Diana O'Kelly.
• Davita Siegel of Buffalo Grove. She's trying to unseat David Stolman in the 20th District.
Each objection was filed by separate pairs or groups of Republicans. They included Schmidt's husband, Robert, Vernon Township Republican chairman Don Castella and Fremont Township Highway Commissioner Bill Grinnell.
In the court documents, the Republican objectors claimed none of the four Democrats was properly nominated for the post. Additionally, they claimed Pearson isn't qualified because he voted Republican in February.
Hearings about the objections are set to begin at 2 p.m. Monday on the 10th floor of the county government center in Waukegan.
In all, 15 county board seats are up for election Nov. 4. All the posts carry 4-year terms.
County board members serve simultaneously on the county's forest preserve district board.