Politics & Government
Moffat Stays on 2 Geneva Ballots in April 9 Election
Reports: Geneva library officials say they won't take candidate's name off their ballot, even though he's running for both the Library Board and the Park Board.
OK, follow if you dare.
Geneva library officials told the Daily Herald this week that Jay Moffat's name will stay on the April 9 Library Board ballot, even though he's running for a Geneva Park Board seat in the same election.
The Library District had asked the Kane County Clerk's Office to look into whether the district should certify Moffat's name. Library Director Matt Teske said the board was concerned that the two offices might be incompatible.
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Moffat actually had submitted petitions to run for three Geneva offices on April 9, but he withdrew from the School Board race when the Illinois Attorney General's Office ruled that the Park Board and School Board positions were incompatible.
Moffat was surprised by the Library Board's efforts to question his candidacy at the 11th hour—the board had a Jan. 31 deadline to certify names on the ballot—but Teske said all the Library District wanted was a clarification of the rules from the Kane County Clerk's Office.
Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What happened next? Basically, the State's Attorney's Office told Kane County Clerk's Office Election Director Suzanne Fahnestock that she shouldn't advise the Library District either way—because that's the purview of the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
The DH reports that the Illinois attorney general "has not issued an opinion specific to a situation where a person wants to serve on park and library boards at the same time."
So there you have it.
In essense, the decision was left up to the Library Board, which probably could have chosen not to certify Moffat based on case law but went ahead with the OK.
What happens April 9 will be interesting, if Moffat were to win election to both boards. There is one Library Board candidate seeking a two-year term and six Library Board candidates vying for four, four-year seats. Moffat is one of those six candidates. There are three candidates vying for two open seats on the Geneva Park Board.
Of tangential interest is the Jan. 31 front-page Daily Herald article on James Creighton Mitchell Jr., who was seeking four offices in the Lake Villa area. Three of the offices were for school boards and one for library board. Mitchell was booted from the school board races but his name stays on the ballot for the Lake Villa Library District.
Related Articles
- Teske: Library Is Simply Seeking Clarification Regarding Moffat's Candidacy
- UPDATE: Jay Moffat Withdraws From School Board Race But Still Seeks Library and Park Board Seats
- Update: Electoral Board Removes Geneva Township Clerk Candidate From Ballot
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