Municipal Officers Electoral Board of the Village of Oak Park

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us Meeting Minutes Municipal Officers Electoral Board of the Village of Oak Park Thursday, January 5, 2017 2:00 PM Room 201 1. Call To Order Chair Abu-Taleb called the meeting to order at 2:00 P.M. 2. Roll Call of Electoral Board (Abu-Taleb, Lueck, Powell) Present: Chair Anan Abu-Taleb, Member Colette Lueck, Member Teresa Powell Also Present: Village Attorney Paul Stephanides, Board Secretary MaryAnn Schoenneman 3. Agenda Approval It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to approve the agenda. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. 4. Introductory Remarks by Chair Anan Abu-Taleb Chair Abu-Taleb stated the purpose of the meeting and thanked all who are running for office. 5. Adoption of Rules of Procedure Village Attorney Stephanides stated that the Rules were prepared by him and based upon standard rules used by Electoral Boards across the state, including the State Board of Elections, the Cook County Officers Electoral Board and the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Copies of the proposed Rules have been made available for viewing in the Council Chambers since 11:00 A.M. this morning and personally delivered to all parties and board members along with the Call for this meeting. The following documents for each case on the docket were entered into the Official Record as Board Exhibits: Exhibit 1: Rules of Procedure Exhibit 2: Nomination Papers of each Candidate Exhibit 3: Objection Petition of each Objector Exhibit 4: Receipt by Personal Delivery of Nomination Papers and Objection Petitions to Chair Abu-Taleb Exhibit 5: Individual Calls Exhibit 6: Waivers of Service for Chair Abu-Taleb Exhibit 7: Waivers of Service for Member Lueck Exhibit 8: Waivers of Service for Member Powell Exhibit 9: Waivers of Service for the Individual Objectors Exhibit 10: Waivers of Service for the Individual Candidates Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 1/3/2018 Municipal Officers Electoral Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2017 of the Village of Oak Park A. MOT 17-141 Adoption of Rules of Procedure It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to adopt the Rules of Procedure. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. 6. Call of the Docket B. ID 17-372 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-1, Peppard v. Barber, Brewer and Malinski Kevin Peppard, the Objector, was present to represent himself. Attorney Michelle Mbekeani-Wiley was present to represent the Candidates; Peter Barber, Glenn Brewer and Loreen "Lori" Malinski. Mr. Peppard motioned for the recusal of Members Lueck and Powell, citing a conflict of interest could be perceived by the public. Village Attorney Stephanides informed the Board that there is no conflict, as neither of them are running for any office in this election. Mr. Stephanides also stated that there is a similar objection petition in Case No. 2016-2, Milstein v. Barber, Brewer and Malinski and asked if there was any objection to consolidating these cases. There was no objection. Robert Milstein, the Objector, was present to represent himself. Mr. Milstein discussed the importance of impartiality of the Board and compliance with the law. Member Lueck noted that this is a matter of law and fair political process based on the evidence before them, not what they would like to see happen. Member Powell concurred. Ms. Mbekeani-Wiley offered no evidence but stated she would submit a brief. There was a discussion regarding a deadline for briefs to be submitted and when to reconvene this case. It was agreed that all parties will have until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 9, 2017 to submit briefs and that the Board will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 for the issuance of its decision in the consolidated matter. It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. C. ID 17-376 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-2, Milstein v. Barber, Brewer and Malinski Consolidated into Case No. 2016-1. D. ID 17-377 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-3, Peppard v. Masalski Kevin Peppard, the Objector, was present to represent himself. Emily Masalski, the Candidate, was present to represent herself. Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 1/3/2018 Municipal Officers Electoral Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2017 of the Village of Oak Park Ms. Masalski motioned for Chair Abu-Taleb to recuse himself from the Board, citing that he would not be impartial. Village Attorney Stephanides noted that there is no conflict, as Chair Abu-Taleb is not running for Village Trustee in this election. Mr. Peppard presented his case. Ms. Masalski is running as a nonpartisan candidate not as an independent candidate. Local elections are not nonpartisan. In addition, she has an insufficient amount of signatures; 118, and that the required amount for an independent candidate for Village Trustee is 251. Ms. Masalski moved to strike Items one through eight on Mr. Peppard's petition for not referencing specific state statutes, as well as not being verified and misspelling her name. She read an excerpt from the Village Code of Oak Park that states Oak Park is a nonpartisan municipality. As a nonpartisan candidate, she has more than enough signatures. Mr. Stephanides stated that the Illinois Election Code governs over this, not the Village Code. Ms. Masalski should have been following instructions under statute regarding independent candidates. Mr. Peppard added that petitions are not required to be verified. Ms. Masalski read from the Illinois Election Code regarding nonpartisan candidates and argued that it is inconsistent with Village Code. It was agreed that all parties will have until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 9, 2017 to submit briefs and that the Board will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 for the issuance of its decision in the matter. It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. E. ID 17-378 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-4, Lazewski v. Masalski Attorney Luke Keller represented the Objector, George Lazewski. Emily Masalski, the Candidate, was present to represent herself. Mr. Keller spoke about the minimum number of signatures required, 251. He asked the Board to take judicial notice that 118 signatures are reflected in the candidate's petition, below the required amount of 251 signatures. He moved for summary of judgement in the case. Ms. Masalski motioned to strike paragraphs one through seven on the objector's petition, as it fails to cite any provisions of state law. She read the same excerpts from the Village Code and Election Code as she did in the previous case. It was agreed that all parties will have until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 9, 2017 to submit briefs and that the Board will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 for the issuance of its decision in the matter. It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. F. ID 17-379 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-5, Peppard v. Gallegos Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 1/3/2018 Municipal Officers Electoral Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2017 of the Village of Oak Park Kevin Peppard, the Objector, was present to represent himself. Elia Gallegos, the Candidate, was present to represent herself. Mr. Peppard stated that it is mandatory to fasten nominating papers together in some way and Ms. Gallegos did not. The papers submitted were flawless aside from that fatal error. Ms. Gallegos acknowledged that she did not fasten her papers but asked the Board for consideration that her name be on the ballot. Member Lueck asked Mr. Peppard what his motivation was to file his objection. Mr. Peppard stated that motivation is not relevant. He examined all the nominating papers. He does this for every municipal election in order to let people know that this has to be done correctly. Ms. Gallegos noted that she took the time and worked hard to file the paperwork, which was correct other than being bound together. It was agreed that all parties will have until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 9, 2017 to submit briefs and that the Board will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 for the issuance of its decision in the matter. t was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. G. ID 17-380 Convene hearing in Case No. 2016-6, Peppard v. Takiguchi Kevin Peppard, the Objector, was present to represent himself. Mas Takiguchi, the Candidate, was present to represent himself. Mr. Peppard stated that the candidate's notarizations are deficient and page 24 of his petition is missing, although the remaining pages consist of 257 signatures, which is more than required. In addition, a page of 12 signatures contains a petitioner's signature who is a family member, then crossed out and replaced with the name of another family member. The page was notarized by yet another family member. There are also three other pages totaling 50 signatures and are notarized with a signature consisting of four stars. Mr. Takiguchi stated that he had enough signatures and that the absence of page 24 is not an issue. In regards to the notary's signature, his official notary stamp appears on the documents. The issue is not his signature but his witnessing of the petitioner's signature. He also stated that the notary's Illinois Driver's License has a signature of four stars. The relationship of who is signing as notary to the candidate is irrelevant. He then brought into evidence a copy of the notary's drivers license and affidavits. Mr. Peppard had no objection to the admission of the driver's license and affidavits into evidence. It was agreed that all parties will have until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 9, 2017 to submit briefs and that the Board will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 12, 2017 for the issuance of its decision in the matter. t was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 1/3/2018 Municipal Officers Electoral Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2017 of the Village of Oak Park approved. 7. Public Comment There was no public comment. 8. Adjournment or Recess of Electoral Board It was moved by Member Powell and seconded by Member Lueck to recess this matter until January 12, 2017. A voice vote was taken and the Motion was approved. Meeting recessed at 3:50 P.M., Thursday, January 5, 2017. Respectfully submitted, MaryAnn Schoenneman Board Secretary Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 1/3/2018