NEWTON —
Newton City Council dealt with objections to filed petitions for one of the first times last week.
The council held hearings Thursday and Friday afternoons to determine the validity of five objections with four of them being dismissed.
The first objection heard Thursday was from Mayor Mark Bolander, who questioned the validity of Michael Fisher's claims of residency and his petition to run for mayor of Newton. The election board was made up of Alderman Scott Bloomberg and Robert Reisner and City Collector Alice Addis.
Fisher, who said he has owned a house in Newton, as well as one outside city limits, should be able to run for mayor based on his residency within the city and cited Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel's living situation as an example of being able to run for office while not living in the city limits.
"We did live in this house," he said. "Not all the time, but some of the time, like a summer house. I didn't live there all the time and I don't live there all the time now."
Bolander said he filed his objection to Fisher's petition as soon as he found out Fisher did not meet the requirement of having lived in a city residence for more than one year.
"After realizing a petition for mayor was filed at city hall, I realized the residency had not been fulfilled and I filed an objection," Bolander said during the hearing.
Jasper County Clerk Linda Huth was called for testimony by Bolander and said Fisher had filed for a change of address on Aug. 29 and had changed his voting registration Sept. 26 of the same year.
Fisher said he still received mail at both of his residences and had recently renewed his driver's license and had not changed his address to match his Newton address.
Fisher also attempted to file an objection against Bolander during his hearing but was rejected from doing so by not following the deadlines. Ultimately, the council dismissed both Fisher's objection and petition to run, effectively removing his name from the ballot.
An objection was filed against Bloomberg by Diane Hickox, citing an incorrect date in which Bloomberg needed to have filed for a political party. The objection was dismissed.
Jo McGlothlin filed an objection against Reisner, also stating the incorrect date for filing as a member of a political party. It was also dismissed by the board.
Darryl Wallace filed two objections, one against Bloomberg and another against Alderman Rick Lindemann. He did not appear at either hearing and both of his objections were dismissed.
Jackson Adams can be reached at 217-347-7151, ext. 131, or jackson.adams@effinghamdailynews.com.
Local News
January 14, 2013
Four out of five Newton objections dismissed
- Local News
-
-
Area prosecutors not enforcing gun law
Area state's attorneys say they tend not to prosecute people who violate the state's concealed carry law — if they aren't otherwise breaking the law. "We normally have not prosecuted concealed carry cases as long as the person is not acting like a je
- Race to raise money for victims to come through area Local runners have the opportunity to participate in a nationwide fundraiser this weekend as One Run for Boston races through Effingham County and surrounding communities. The nonstop transcontinental relay is raising money for the victims of the Bos
- Unit 50 Community raises enough to reinstate sports TEUTOPOLIS — A number of Teutopolis Unit 50 athletes on both the high school and junior high levels will get a chance after all to compete in sport programs that had been cut this spring. Superintendent Bill Fritcher said at Monday's Unit 50 board me
- Board holds off on radio issue Effingham County Board members would like a little more time to discuss a massive purchase of radio equipment for the sheriff's department — a purchase that would reportedly solve the department's lingering interoperability issues. The board voted un
-
Judge not to reappoint longtime public defender
Longtime Effingham County Public Defender Lupita Thompson has been told she will lose her job after 16 years.
-
Teen to attend Air Force Academy
Jeff Keitel knew during his early teen years what he wanted to do with his life. "Not many kids start thinking about college in the seventh grade," said the recent Effingham High School graduate. But Keitel, the son of Kal and Renee Keitel, didn't wa
- Effingham County Official looking to expand Drug Court program Now that Effingham County Drug Court has been operating for several years, Effingham County probation officials are seeking to expand the program to include mentally ill and military veteran offenders. Chief Probation Officer Cheryl Meyers told an Ef
-
Old Western star to appear in Effingham
A television star from days of yore will appear in Effingham next month. Effingham County Sheriff John Monnet told a County Board committee Thursday that James Drury, who starred in "The Virginian," will appear at a July 13 shooting event at the Spor
- Work progresses on museum Effingham County Cultural Center & Museum Association volunteers have been working hard on the inside of the museum, which formerly housed the Effingham County Courthouse. While there's still plenty of work to be done inside the museum, ECCCMA Presid
-
Memories of Mason
MASON — The little town of Mason has changed a lot since Jerry Eident was a little boy in the late 1950s. It's changed even more since Hubert Irey Gibson was growing up 100 years ago. Eident, writing as J.D. Eident, used an essay by "Grandpa Gibson"
- More Local News Headlines
-
Area prosecutors not enforcing gun law
