(Above, Clockwise L to R) Danville Election Commission Attorney John Beardsley, DEC Executive Director Sandy Delhaye, Barb Bailey, Dave Ryan, and Tom Mellen
Wednesday afternoon’s (Dec 21) Danville Election Commission hearing, held in the Vermilion County Board Committee Room, was literally a double-header of ballot issues with two different plots. In the first half, hopeful mayoral challenger Jacob Lane was officially voted off the 2023 Consolidated Election ballot by the Danville Election Commission’s Tom Mellen, Dave Ryan, and Barb Bailey; on the basis that, agreeing with Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr’s objection; he did not have enough valid signatures on his filing petition because some were not registered to vote and some were from outside of the Danville City Limits.
Hopeful mayoral candidate Jacob Lane (right) prepares for start of Danville Election Commission hearing.
And while Lane was not able to prove that all of the bad signature accusations were wrong; he did say that the Danville Election Commission has done a lot of things wrong. As one example, there was a disagreement on whether he had actually received notice of last week’s (Dec 14) Commission meeting. And Lane has other issues with the D-E-C as well.
AUDIO: Mr. Williams’ objection was invalid. It wasn’t time stamped. We don’t know what time it got into the office. It could have got into the office right before the deadline, on Monday December 5th, to contest; or it could have come after. You’re expecting me to follow the rules. Then I expect the Election Commission to be up to full integrity, and follow the rules as well.
Jacob Lane will be filing suit against the Danville Election Commission in Vermilion County Circuit Court.
Meanwhile, in the Danville City Council 5th Ward Election, incumbent Eve Ludwig had objected to challenger Jakob Dazey’s filing petitions. The Commission had sided in her favor, saying Dazey had only 32 of a required 34 valid signatures. But Dazey and his attorney Mark Christoff argued before the Commission that a Ward 5 map they received from the city did show three signatures in question as being from the Fifth Ward. But as it turns out, that was according to a future Ward Five map prematurely posted by the City of Danville. (Danville Election Commission does not post ward maps, the city does.) In reality, the updated ward maps approved by the Danville City Council in November could not take effect until after the 2023 election, because they were approved too closely to it.
A frustrated Jakob Dazey after the Danville Election Commission ruled he could not be on the 2023 Consolidated Election Ballot as a Danville City Council Ward 5 Candidate
Dazey argued that the packet he received from the Election Commission said go to the city for ward maps. And when Dazey did that, it turned out that it was during the window that the updated maps were prematurely posted, meaning that his three signatures in question were actually from residents still in Ward 6, and not in Ward 5. While the Commission members were sympathetic, they said the law had to be followed, and Dazey was disallowed from the ballot. A frustrated Jakob Dazey spoke with us afterwards.
AUDIO: I mean it’s frustrating that two offices aren’t working together. They’re under the same city, but neither one of them confirmed the maps. I mean one says that they didn’t have the correct map, and the other one says it’s the correct map. So, it is what it is.
Jacob Lane’s attorney, Matthew Castardo of Naperville, was unable to attend Wednesday’s Danville Election Commission hearing due to a family emergency.
