A periodic update about the 2022 campaign for public office.

Notices about public campaign appearances in the Sauk Valley should be sent to news@saukvalley.com. The news and notes will run periodically during the election season.

Paper clips A-OK

The Lee County Electoral Board unanimously voted April 12 to deny all objections against three Lee County Board members running for re-election.

Dixon resident Jennifer Lawson made formal election objections to County Board District 1 Republican incumbents Mike Koppien, Chris Norberg and Jim Schielein, arguing that they should be stricken from the June 28 primary ballot because their nomination papers were held together using paper clips.

Attorney Tim Zollinger, appointed by the Electoral Baord to oversee objection hearings and file a report to the board, made recommendations that all three objections be denied because the “objector failed to meet her burden of proof.” Both sides were given the opportunity to issue exceptions to the recommendations, and none were filed.

Nelson enters treasurer’s race

The Libertarian Party announced its slate, which includes Carbondale resident Gabriel Nelson as a candidate for state treasure — the same office sought by statehouse Deputy Republican Leader Tom Demmer of Dixon and incumbent Democrat Michael Frerichs, office-holder since 2019.

Nelson was last a candidate for the U.S. House in 2020, running against Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat from Schaumburg, for the 8th District seat, which represents parts of Cook, DuPage, and Kane counties. Nelson founded the Southern Illinois Libertarian Party in 2014 and has since had public relations duties with the Libertarian party.

Wasn’t Frerichs in Sterling?

Yes, he was. The stop on Tuesday was not political, but within the duties of his office. Frerichs visited Smoked on Third and talked to workers about their enrollment in the state retirement saving’s plan, Secure Choice.

Libertarian slate

Petitioning began Wednesday for third-party candidates. Independent or new-party candidates must gather 25,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot.

The other announced Libertarian candidates are Deirdre N. McCloskey for state comptroller, Daniel K. Robin for attorney general, John Phillips for lieutenant governor, Scott Schluter for governor and ... Jesse White for Secretary of State.

Not that Jesse White

Just to be clear, the Libertarian candidate for secretary of state isn’t the same person as Jesse Clark White, the 87-year-old Democrat who has held that office since 1999 but is not seeking re-election.

Steve Suess, the chairman of the Libertarian Party, told the Springfield State Journal Register it’s a “total coincidence” their candidate has the same name. The party is not trying to defraud voters and that its Jesse White is a serious candidate, he added.

What are Libertarians?

Libertarians espouse the the right to life, liberty of speech and action and the right to property. As policy, this is expressed as the need for greatly reduced regulation and taxation, promotion of civil liberties including freedom of association and sexual freedom, gun rights and self defense and the elimination of state welfare and most business regulation.

The party has eight office-holders statewide, including River Valley Library District board trustee Brody Anderson in Port Byron and Paw Paw village President John Prentice. The Stateline Libertarians of northern Illinois meet monthly at Big O’s in the Hollow in Freeport.

In 2020, the Libertarian presidential ticket got 65,544 votes, about 1.1% of the electorate.

Appearances

Meet and greet for Mike Lewis, Republican candidate for Whiteside County sheriff, 8:30 a.m., A’s Kitchen, Rock Falls.