THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: The DACC Electoral Board voted Thursday to not to allow outgoing DACC President Stephen Nacco to remain on the April 2025 ballot for DACC Board of Trustees.
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DANVILLE — Outgoing Danville Area Community College President Stephen Nacco is not being allowed to stay on the April 2025 ballot for DACC Board of Trustees candidates.
Nacco, who has five days to appeal the decision, said he “might” appeal, and will have to think about it.
Nacco, who is retiring Friday and was talking to other DACC officials at Thursday’s continued hearing about turning in his keys and other college belongings, said “what they did is perfectly fine.”
The DACC Electoral Board voted 2-1 to accept election petition objector Lynn McLinden’s claims to remove Nacco from the consolidated election ballot. The board is made up of DACC board members Greg Wolfe, Sandra Finch and Tracy Cherry.
Cherry voted not to remove Nacco from the ballot. She doesn’t feel they were qualified to make the decision.
“It’s an election board issue. It should have been the election board making that decision. There are other cases with similar situations that have resulted in those signatures not being disqualified,” Cherry said. “I’m not a lawyer. I’m not an attorney. I don’t feel like I’m qualified to make that decision.”
McLinden, who filed the objection to Nacco’s election paperwork as not fully being filled out correctly and not having enough valid registered voter signatures, said he had no further comment and “everything depends on whether Mr. Nacco, President Nacco, chooses to appeal this.”
The DACC Electoral Board’s ruling was based on Nacco not having the needed 50 registered voter signatures on his candidate paperwork. The board disqualified 33 signatures and multiple sheets of Nacco’s candidate paperwork due to addresses not being correct, some not being registered voters, and Nacco not filling in portions of the paperwork with the community college district number and Nacco’s state of residence.
The DACC Electoral Board first met Dec. 4, but postponed a ruling for more case research and to review the information with Danville and Vermilion County election officials that was provided in the objection by Danville resident McLinden.
McLinden has regularly attended city and county meetings through the years questioning government actions. He didn’t comment on why he only reviewed and objected to Nacco’s candidate paperwork.
McLinden had said if the board ruled Nacco could remain on the ballet, he would’ve appealed the decision in court.
Finch said they looked at the evidence on both sides. She then went through why 33 signatures and sheets of Nacco’s paperwork were being disqualified. She said they talked to Vermilion County Supervisor of Elections Carrie Wilson and also the Danville Election Commission for verification.
Finch said Wilson told the board it’s the candidate’s responsibility to turn in all paperwork correctly. Nacco had said Wilson indicated to him it was DACC election official Kerri Thurman’s responsibility to review any candidate’s paperwork and see if anything is missing before accepting it. No law or statute to support this was presented. Finch said Wilson told them the DACC election official is to check for apparent conformity, but not signatures.
McLinden had objected to 36 of Nacco’s 72 registered voter signatures on the election papers. If they had all been thrown out, that only would have left 36 valid signatures which is less than the 50 signatures required for a candidate. With the board disqualifying 33 signatures, that left 39 of a needed 50 signatures to be a candidate on the ballot.
Board Attorney Jerry Davis also talked with the DACC Electoral Board about some previous election petition cases, and Wolfe said there’d been a case with a local city council alderman candidate who was disqualified from being on the ballot due to paperwork issues.
DACC will elect three trustees in April. Two are for six-year appointments — currently held by Wolfe and Cherry, who is not seeking re-election. The other, a four-year seat, was vacated by the resignation of board chair Dave Harby.
Caroline Harby, Dave’s daughter-in-law, is the only candidate who filed to fill that term.
Running for DACC’s other two seats are Wolfe and newcomers Lisa Martin, Aaron Biggs, Laura Williams and Amanda Krabbe.
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