Pingree Grove candidate stays on the ballot

Now that Brian Paszkiewicz has won the right to stay on Pingree Grove's ballot, its upcoming trustee election remains contested.

Tuesday night, Paszkiewicz survived a challenge to his nominating petitions that Brook Carey — wife of Village President Wyman “Clint” Carey — brought forward. She sought to remove him from the ballot over signatures she said were questionable.

“I'm on the ballot, justice was served,” Paszkiewicz said after the hearing.

But he won a spot by the skin of his teeth.

Brook Carey and village officials thought candidates needed at least 36 signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.

But after the village did some checking, they realized candidates only need 12 signatures. Paszkiewicz had 51 total signatures and the electoral panel sided with Brook Carey and agreed to strike 20 of them.

• They eliminated all 15 on page three because Paszkiewicz did not sign a statement at the bottom of the page affirming the documents were signed in his presence.

• Four signatures were disqualified because they did not belong to registered voters.

• One signature was removed because it was nearly identical to another one gathered at the same address — Paszkiewicz acknowledged he had not seen both people sign, because they closed the door to control their dogs and signed them while the door was still shut.

That would have left him with 31 signatures and disqualified him from running — if he needed 36 signatures to get on the ballot.

“It would have been real close, but I'm still here,” Paszkiewicz said. “Live for another day.”

Brook Carey said she found out about the 12 signature requirement Monday, but decided to go ahead with the challenge, because it was “the right thing to do.”

She also said she wasn't disappointed with the ruling.

“I think it was fair, I think they conducted a fair hearing,” said Carey, an attorney herself. “Obviously, I have a different interpretation about what was shown, but I respect their decision.”

The four-year village trustee race is the only contested race in the village, with four people running for three seats. Greg Marston, running for president, Joanna Wester, running for clerk and Steve Wiedmeyer, running for the two-year seat, are doing so unopposed.