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Race for Antioch trustee gets tighter with removal of one candidate

The race for village trustee in Antioch will be less crowded following a successful challenge to the petitions of one of the candidates.

Jeannine Bandemer, who was going to make her first run at elected office, will not be on the ballot and does not plan an appeal of the local electoral board’s ruling earlier this week.

Her petition for nomination forms were challenged by Jeffrey S. Levernier, a resident who contended Bandemer’s documents did not clearly state the position for which she was running. He said in the challenge there were four separate trustee positions on the ballot, including those for school board, township and library races, and that voters could be confused.

On Tuesday, the village’s electoral board, which consists of Mayor Lawrence Hanson, Village Clerk Lori Folbrick and village Trustee Dennis Crosby voted unanimously to uphold the objection.

Hanson said the board is bound by state election laws, which are strict on details. He said the rules say every petition sheet needs to clearly identify the office being sought.

“It’s unfortunate the rule is that way but it is,” he said. “We don’t control the state statute.”

Hanson added there was precedent in the board’s decision, as two candidates were bounced for the same reason in 2009.

“Somebody could have been confused,” he said of the petitions.

Bandemer, an asset management analyst, said she had no major issues in seeking a seat on the village board but wanted to be more involved in the community and bring a fresh perspective.

“This is a technicality that’s so minor it’s almost laughable,” she said. She acknowledged using only the term “trustee” on the signature pages but that the forms for the other offices were different.

“It’s very clear when read as a whole I was running for trustee in the village of Antioch,” she said.

Bandemer said she decided not to appeal the electoral board’s decision to the Lake County circuit court but will be more careful when she runs again.

Her departure leaves four candidates for three trustee seats: three incumbents Jay Jozwiak, Scott Pierce and Ted Poulos; and, Jerry Johnson. Hanson is being challenged by Mary Gaborek.

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