District 211 candidate knocked off ballot
A Schaumburg resident knocked out of the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board race said Wednesday he's leaning toward not appealing the ruling.
The loss of Dennis Watts would trim the field to seven candidates for the four seats up for election in April.
Watts' nominating petitions were challenged by Sharon Langlotz-Johnson, a Republican Palatine Township trustee. A candidate needs 50 signatures to appear on a ballot. Watts collected 55, but the district's electoral board ruled 13 of those signatures were invalid. That left 42 valid signatures, eight fewer than required.
The board heard eight objections, including if the signatures were from residents within the district and if they included the signees' proper addresses.
Watts, a 67-year-old Schaumburg resident, said he's voted in Democratic primaries and that affiliation probably gave Langlotz-Johnson, a GOP committeewoman, motivation to challenge his candidacy, he said.
“My reason for running was education, it wasn't political,” a frustrated Watts said. “I really don't to get into the political side.”
Langlotz-Johnson could not be reached for comment. Watts has until Jan. 21 to file an appear if he changes his mind.
District 211 Associate Superintendent for Business David Torres said officials haven't calculated how much money it cost to go through the objection process. The district required the services of two attorneys, Torres and the board room for hearings on Tuesday and on Jan. 4. The attorneys and Torres also went to the county office downtown on Jan. 13 to sift through records.
Board President Robert LeFevre loosely estimated all that personnel would cost at least $5,000.
The electoral board consisted of LeFevre and board members Anna Klimkowicz and Debra Strauss. They met for about an hour on Tuesday as well as on Jan. 4 to hear the matter. Strauss decided not to run for re-election and the two others aren't up for re-election this year.
“Ultimately, the question was did the nomination papers contain 50 valid, collected signatures,” LeFevre said. “The answer to that question was ‘no they did not,' so we sustained the objection.”
Incumbent George Brandt, the board's vice president, is running for re-election. So is Richard Gerber, who joined the board in October following the death of board member Theresa Tracy. Charles Fritz, Roman Golash, Bill Robertson, M. Bryan Neal and Mucia Burke round out the ballot.