KENOSHA SCHOOL HOPEFUL, DAY LATE, WANTS TO BE ON BALLOT

Pleasant Prairie Man Follows School District Instructions;

Files Day Late

Should He Be On Ballot Or Off?

By Michael Horne


[UPDATE -- Tuesday, January 12th, 2009 -- The Kenosha Board rejected Gallo's request yesterday. (See attached file, below.) The matter is then expected to be heard by the GAB at its Thursday meeting. --Ed.]

Stacy Busby, the Clerk of the Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 board has received a verified complaint asking her to permit David Gallo to run for a board seat despite his having filed his nomination papers a day late.
Gallo said he submitted his 169 signatures on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 because that was the date listed on his informational packet and on the district's website.

But the district denied Gallo's request because state law specifies "the first Tuesday in January" as the filing date for candidates for office in nonpartisan spring elections. The phrase was also included on the back side of nomination forms. Four other candidates filed in a timely fashion.

Sure enough, the incorrect date appeared on the district's website as late as today, Monday, January 11th, 2010, and was cited as an exhibit to the complaint.

From the Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 Election Instructions:

The Declaration of Candidacy form, properly signed and notarized, and the nomination papers must be returned no later than 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.

If Gallo is not permitted on the ballot by the Clerk, he can appeal to the Government Accountability Board at its January 14th meeting.

I don't know how you would rule in such a case, especially since the district gave out the wrong day in its attempts to assist candidates to run for the board. I suppose if teacher wrote on the blackboard that the college board exams were on Wednesday, when they were actually a day before, the folks at SAT wouldn't give you a second chance if you showed up a day late.

The State of Wisconsin Government Accountability Board -- which begins its third year in business today -- has long had a policy of inclusion when it comes to similar situations. The six board members are all retired judges who know how to balance the requirements of the statutes, the intent of the framers, and the errors the school district administration may have committed in this matter.

However, I always encourage candidates to Go To The Source whenever they plan to run for office. Campaign registration requirements are clearly set out on the GAB website, and should be considered definitive. In the end, it is not the Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 that is holding this election, it is the State of Wisconsin, and that is who calls the rules.
Mr. Gallo is represented by Atty. David Halbrooks, although the complaint reads as if it were drafted by his associate Michael Maistelman.

The Verified Complaint.
Kenosha News article by Terry Flores
The Kenosha District's Response Denying Request