A panel ruled Tuesday that Republican-turned-Libertarian Chad Grimm cannot remain on the ballot for the November general election. <\/p>\n
Grimm sought to oust Democratic incumbent state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth. <\/p>\n
At a hearing held in the Peoria County boardroom, the three-member Peoria County Officers Electoral Board decided Grimm's petitioners broke state election laws because some who circulated nominating petitions for Grimm also worked for state Sen. Dave Koehler, a Democrat. <\/p>\n
\"I told the panel I did my due diligence by asking them point-blank if they had ever circulated petitions in this election cycle, and they told me no,\" said Grimm. \"It's a completely unreasonable law, and they threw me off on a technicality because Jehan Gordon-Booth did not want to run a campaign and she wants to assume the seat she holds is her seat, not that of the 92nd District.\" <\/p>\n
The challenge to Grimm's candidacy wasn't filed by Gordon-Booth but by Patricia Kenny, a political ally. <\/p>\n
When reached Tuesday evening, Gordon-Booth said allegations that she didn't want to run a campaign were \"ridiculous\" and pointed to her voting record over the past three years, saying she represented all the members of her district. <\/p>\n
\"There is a process in place, and there are people who successfully get on the ballot every year,\" she said. \"I understand that he may have a degree of frustration, but there are literally hundreds or thousands of people in this state who get on the ballot.\" <\/p>\n
Grimm maintains it is virtually impossible to check if anyone ever circulated a petition for a different party because that would mean going to Springfield, pulling petitions for every non-Libertarian candidate in any race and checking the names against those who circulated petitions for him. <\/p>\n
The decision isn't final until a written order is entered by the board, which is likely to come on Thursday. Grimm will have five days from then to appeal. If he chooses to appeal, a local judge will likely hear the matter and could possibly rule before the ballots are printed this fall. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Panel: Libertarian candidate can't run<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A panel ruled Tuesday that Republican-turned-Libertarian Chad Grimm cannot remain on the ballot for the November general election. Grimm sought to oust Democratic incumbent state Rep. Continue reading