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6 | December 13, 2018 | The Homer Horizon news<br />
homerhorizon.com<br />
Objections filed against two Village<br />
trustee candidates in spring election<br />
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Hearing to be held<br />
Monday, Dec. 17<br />
Jessie Molloy<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
The Village of Homer<br />
Glen Electoral Board held a<br />
meeting Friday, Dec. 10, to<br />
address objections made by<br />
a resident against two candidates<br />
who will be running for<br />
spots this spring on the Village<br />
Board.<br />
Ted Ciciora filed objections<br />
against the election<br />
paperwork of both Trustee<br />
Beth Rodgers and newcomer<br />
Michael Kartsounis, who are<br />
among five candidates running<br />
to fill three open seats<br />
on the board in the upcoming<br />
April 2 election.<br />
Trustee Christina Neitzke-<br />
Troike’s seat is being vacated<br />
in April as Neitzke-Troike is<br />
stepping down to run for the<br />
position of Village Clerk.<br />
Current Village Clerk Ann<br />
Holtz is not seeking re-election<br />
to the post and is instead<br />
running for a seat on the Village<br />
Board. Along with Rodgers,<br />
Kartsounis and Holtz,<br />
Trustee Carlo Caprio is also<br />
pursuing re-election to his<br />
seat on the board. The final<br />
candidate in the race is Ruben<br />
Pazmino, owner of Rubi<br />
Agave restaurant.<br />
If the challenges are successful,<br />
only three candidates<br />
would remain in the running,<br />
and the election results would<br />
be predetermined.<br />
Last Friday’s meeting determined<br />
that the objection<br />
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would be taken to a hearing at<br />
4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17. Rodgers<br />
filed a motion to dismiss<br />
the objections, which will be<br />
decided upon as the first order<br />
of business at the hearing.<br />
Kartsounis was unable to<br />
attend last Friday’s meeting<br />
and did not send legal representation,<br />
though he will<br />
still be able to challenge the<br />
objections against him at the<br />
hearing if the motion to dismiss<br />
is voted down.<br />
In a statement sent to The<br />
Homer Horizon, Rodgers<br />
said the she does not know<br />
Ciciora and called the objection<br />
“ludicrous.”<br />
“For [Ciciora] to object<br />
that my packet is not valid<br />
because my house address is<br />
in Mokena is a waste of the<br />
taxpayers’ time and money,”<br />
Rodgers said. “I have been an<br />
active resident and volunteer<br />
of Homer Glen for 20 years<br />
and an elected trustee for almost<br />
four years.”<br />
Ciciora’s objection to Kartsounis’<br />
candidacy stems from<br />
alleged minor errors in paperwork<br />
filings. In meeting<br />
documents obtained by The<br />
Horizon, Ciciora cites Illinois<br />
and County election code to<br />
complain about three errors.<br />
The first was that in his Statement<br />
of Economic Interest<br />
filed with Will County, Kartsounis<br />
listed the position he<br />
was running for as “Trustee-<br />
Homer” instead of “Homer<br />
Glen.” As Homer is a town in<br />
Champaign County, Ciciora<br />
argues in his objection that<br />
this should invalidate Kartsounis’<br />
candidacy.<br />
Kartsounis also listed his<br />
candidacy this way on his<br />
first set of petitions, and did<br />
not, Ciciora said, file a statement<br />
with a secondary, correct<br />
set of petitions requesting<br />
the second set be considered<br />
the official papers. Ciciora<br />
argues that neglecting to file<br />
that statement of preference<br />
makes the first set of papers<br />
the official documents, and, as<br />
they have the town name error,<br />
they should not be valid.<br />
Finally, Ciciora stated that<br />
Kartsounis’ candidacy papers<br />
were not properly fastened<br />
together and should be disqualified.<br />
When reached for comment<br />
on the issue, Kartsounis<br />
said he did not wish to make<br />
a statement until after the<br />
hearing had proceeded. The<br />
Horizon also reached out to<br />
Ciciora for comment but did<br />
not receive a reply.<br />
Rodgers, Kartsounis and<br />
Ciciora will all be given the<br />
chance to state their case either<br />
in person or through a<br />
representative, as addressed<br />
in the objections at next<br />
week’s hearing. In order for<br />
the objections to be sustained<br />
or dismissed, two of the three<br />
Electoral Board members<br />
— which consists of Mayor<br />
George Yukich, Neitzke-<br />
Troike and Trustee Sharon<br />
Sweas — must be in agreement<br />
on the ruling.<br />
If only two members are<br />
in attendance, a split ruling<br />
results in the objection being<br />
dismissed.
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