Belvidere School Board incumbents dropped from ballot on technicality - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

• By Ben Stanley
  Rockford Register Star
  Posted Jan. 21, 2015 @ 5:30 pm

  BELVIDERE — When it comes to school board elections, two Belvidere representatives learned a hard lesson: Number your candidacy papers or number your days in office.

  Belvidere Board of Education members Jason Colson and Dan Wilson were removed from the upcoming April 7 School Board ballot because the candidacy paperwork they filed with the county in December did not include page numbers.

  “It seems so trivial when you think about the will of the voters," Colson said, referring to the people who signed his petition. "You would think that would outweigh the little things like (page numbers)."

  Constituents have five business days from the Dec. 22 filing deadline to review candidate petition papers and file an objection if they feel the petitions do not comply with state statute.

  “Anyone’s petition is considered valid unless it’s objected to,” said Boone County Clerk Mary Steurer.

The objections were filed on Dec. 30 by Lisa Whitcomb, a local insurance agent who heads the organization Parents Advocating for Students and Staff, or PASS. PASS has been active in

lobbying for stricter compliance with special education requirements in the Belvidere School District.

“The way in which you represent individuals begins from the time you file your candidacy paperwork,” Whitcomb said. "There is an absence of compliance, and that, for me, is very important."

Once an objection is filed, it is reviewed by the Boone County Officers Electoral Board, comprised of Steurer, Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Fuesting and Boone County Circuit Clerk Linda Anderson.

Listed as the reason both Colson and Wilson were withdrawn from the ballot in the board's Jan. 8 decisions: "The candidate did not comply with the code in that he failed to paginate his petition papers as required by the code."

"Let the voters decide who is most deserving of the position rather than one person who has a grudge against not using page numbers on your petition," Colson said.

Whitcomb filed objections to the submissions of five candidates, including Heather Sell-Wick, Frank Marks and Kelley Galluzzo, but only Colson and Wilson were removed from the ballot.

“I really don’t understand the reason why she did it because she really doesn’t know anything about me at all," Colson said. "I am a taxpayer, I have two children in the School District, my wife works for the district; I have many different interests that go into this district. ... It’s not consistent with the will of the voters who signed my petition. Because one person doesn’t like that the pages aren’t numbered I am not longer on the ballot."

Belvidere School Board incumbents dropped from ballot on technicality - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL