Fight to keep Democrats on DuPage ballot expected

The chairman of the DuPage Democratic Party is defending the process his organization used to slate candidates for a forest preserve seat and a countywide post after objections were filed against both candidacies.

Opponents claim Christopher English and Kali Morgan Peickert shouldn't appear on the November ballot because they didn't meet the legal requirements to qualify for the general election.

A special committee formed by the DuPage Democratic organization picked English of Darien to challenge Republican Clerk of the Circuit Court Chris Kachiroubas because no Democrats ran for that position in the March primary.

Another panel selected Peickert of Lombard to run against incumbent Republican Jeff Redick for a District 2 seat on the DuPage County Forest Preserve District board. The district covers all or portions of Addison, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Villa Park, Westmont and Woodridge.

After they were chosen, English and Peickert gathered signatures to get on the Nov. 8 ballot.

But in separate objections filed on Tuesday, opponents insist the special committees that selected English and Peickert didn't have the legal authority to do so.

“The letter of the law needs to be upheld in every election,” said Michael Ledonne, a former county board member who joined another resident in challenging Peickert's candidacy.

Ledonne said election law simply doesn't allow forest preserve candidates to be slated by committees.

Robert Peickert, the DuPage Democratic Party chairman, disagrees. He says the organization will fight to keep its candidates on the ballot.

“The law clearly says that there's a period of time when vacancies can be filled if a position is not filled in the primary,” said Peickert, who is Kali Morgan Peickert's grandfather. “The law doesn't exclude the forest preserve.”

Peickert said the Democratic organization in DuPage long has used committees to pick candidates for vacant spots on the ballot.

“We're pretty confident we followed the correct procedure,” he said.

So Peickert said he was surprised to hear the argument made that all the Democratic precinct committeemen should have been given the opportunity to decide if they wanted English to be the nominee.

Because clerk of the circuit court is a countywide position, Kachiroubas and other Republicans say the DuPage Democratic Party should have held a special convention to pick the nominee.

“That process takes it out of the shadows ... and makes it transparent,” Kachiroubas said.

It's up to DuPage's electoral board to review both objections and decide whether the candidates' nomination papers are valid. Hearing dates haven't been set.

In the meantime, Peickert accused the DuPage GOP of trying to get Democrats kicked off the ballot. “They will look for any excuse to accomplish that,” he said.

Republicans say they only want to make sure the law is followed to get candidates on the ballot.

In fact, Kachiroubas said he wouldn't mind having a Democratic opponent in the fall.

“It will give me an opportunity to talk about what we've done and what we've accomplished over the last 12 years,” said Kachiroubas, who is seeking a fourth term.