Mount Prospect trustee candidate kicked off ballot

Mount Prospect election officials on Wednesday kicked a candidate off the ballot because he didn't number the pages of his election petition.

Ken Schmalzer, who was running for trustee, was told he'd have to sit this one out by the village's three-person electoral board. His petition was challenged by Trustee Steve Polit.

The board, made up to Village Clerk Lisa Angell, Trustee Paul Hoefert and Mayor Irvana Wilks, determined that Schmalzer's oversight of not numbering the pages was enough to keep him out of the election. Case law is clear when it comes to the pages - all must be numbered, Hoefert said.

"I'd like to say let him on, but this is all driven by law," Hoefert said.

Polit said Schmalzer's petition violated several election rules, including lack of page numbers and date. Also, parts of the forms for county and date were left blank.

Schmalzer did not fault the election board for its decision, saying it was the right decision under the law. He was not so charitable to Polit, who he accused of using the situation to better his election odds.

"I think this was petty of Polit," Schmalzer said. "Now he only has four people to run against instead of five."

Polit said he believes candidates should be prepared to handle basic requirements of filing a petition; otherwise, they aren't ready to be a trustee. He said he has nothing against Schmalzer and hopes he runs in the future.

Schmalzer said he's going to run again in two years when other trustee seats are up.

Even though Polit is an incumbent, it will be his first trustee election. Last July, he was appointed to the board after Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer resigned. He's serving out the remainder of the term and is now eligible to run for the spot. Other candidates for trustee are Trustee John Matuszak, Trustee Mike Zadel and Matt Stankowicz.

Running for mayor are incumbent Irvana Wilks, Ernie Lasse and Patricia Bird.