In what she described as a 'political hit job,' Pekin mayoral candidate removed from ballot

The Municipal Officer’s Election Board for the City of Pekin voted 2-1 on Friday to remove mayoral candidate Becky Cloyd from the ballot.

Cloyd described the move as a "political hit job” and vowed to fight the decision.

“I will fight with all the American mechanisms that are in place,” she stated. “We have every legal precedent that I will be on the ballot, and I will fight as far as I need to go.

The Electoral Board hearing was convened as a result of objections to Cloyd’s petition from Pekin residents John Burns and Tim Latronico. Both Burns and Latronico said Cloyd’s nomination petition was missing circulator’s information at the bottom of each page. Burns also said that some of the signatures had come from addresses outside of Pekin’s corporate city limits.

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Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman testified that although Cloyd did not fill out the circulator’s information, she had circulated the petition herself, and had properly filled out her candidate information at the top of each page. Two of the signatories were determined to reside outside of Pekin’s corporate limits, he said. The board unanimously overruled the objections to the circulator’s information, but upheld the objection to the two signatures.

The three-person board consisted of Pekin Mayor Mark Luft, the Pekin City Council’s longest-serving member, Lloyd Orrick, and Pekin City Clerk Sue McMillan. Orrick voted against Cloyd’s removal from the ballet.

“I’ve had numerous years on the Council, and I’ve seen very few candidates run, which I think is a shame,” Orrick said. “So, I’ve always supported people running. I think the more people we get to run, the better the selection of candidates we have. If you have a petition to sign, I will sign it. That doesn’t mean I will vote for you, but I will give you the opportunity to run.”

Luft denied that his vote in favor of Cloyd’s removal from the ballot was politically motivated. He acknowledged that the Pekin residents who signed Cloyd’s nomination petition deserved a chance to vote for the candidate of their choice, but said it was important for candidates to ensure they followed proper procedure in submitting petitions.

“For people who go through the tedious, stressful process and do exactly like they’re supposed to do to ensure their names are on the ballot, it’s frustrating when … those who haven’t get a little bit of leniency,” Luft said. “This is what I have watched in going through the process myself.”

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In a pre-hearing statement, Pekin mayoral candidate Mary Burress agreed with the importance of following proper procedures because transparency, attention to detail and regard for the rules should be critical for elected officials. But she noted that Cloyd obtained more than enough signatures to run for mayor.

“There are 47 people who believe Councilman Cloyd belongs on the ballot, and they did everything right when they signed her petition,” Burress said. “Voters shouldn’t be punished for the carelessness of the candidate.”

Cloyd’s counsel, Thomas DeVore, moved that Luft should be disqualified from his position as chair of the Electoral Board because of his public support for Burress. Orrick voted in favor of the motion, which was defeated 2-1.

“The Constitution of the State of Illinois and the United States requires by due process that my client is entitled to a fair and impartial Board,” DeVore said. “Fair and impartial means that there’s nobody on there who has any bias or any conflict that might cause them to not hear this matter in an impartial way.”

Cloyd is retaining DeVore as counsel as she appeals the decision.

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Pekin mayoral candidate removed from ballot