Veteran trustee off Pingree Grove ballot, challenger stays on

Veteran Pingree Grove Trustee Richard Stramaglia's hopes to remain on the village board were dashed Wednesday after the town's electoral board disqualified him from the upcoming election.

Meanwhile, Patrick Whalen, who previously ran unsuccessfully for village president and is now competing for a four-year trustee seat, survived a challenge to his candidacy.

Stramaglia was the lone Pingree Grove candidate to be bounced from the April ballot after two days of hearings on challenges to six board hopefuls' filings.

The three-member electoral panel invalidated nine of the 25 signatures Stramaglia had on his petition forms - six because they signed other candidate's petitions and three more because the signers had not completely filled out pertinent information.

The ruling left Stramaglia one signature short of the 17 needed to run for office in the village.

Stramaglia later said he was surprised the panel jettisoned his candidacy and has not decided whether to appeal.

"I feel everything I did was legal," said a Stramaglia, a trustee since the early 1990s.

Trustee Ricky Popilek, who is running for a four-year seat, brought challenges against both Stramaglia and Whalen.

Popilek said three pages of Whalen's signatures should have been thrown out because he had not filled out portions of his forms listing which office he was running for and when.

The board said that was not a "fatal" error.

"I think the board made the right decision, I think they were fair in their decision," said Whalen, who also is running an uncontested race for Rutland Township trustee. "This way, I can serve the township and the village at the same time, if I win (in Pingree Grove)."

Popilek said his challenges were never personal and were all about making sure everyone was following the rules.

With Stramaglia's ejection, four candidates are now running for three, four-year trustee positions: Whalen, Popilek, Trustee Greg Marston and newcomer Joshua Cossiboon.

There is a three-way race for a two-year up for grabs. Former Trustee Jon Peschke and newcomers Larry Gillie and Charles Jackson are in contention for that seat.

Marston is the only candidate who did not face any objections to his candidacy or file any of his own.