12/15/10

BACK MATT RAPID REPLY:

When is a Resident not Resident... Only in Aurora.... when

you live there for a year and have receipts and affidavits
from your neighbors and Post Carrier. WOW... But not to
worry we are going into the Courts.

We will have this overturned in the courts, by fact or by

law. I thank you for over 2,00 e-mails and 100 calls to the
campaign office, to stay in the race and to fight for your
right I will continue the to strive for A Better Way for
Aurora, We will be Filling as a Write-In CANDIDATE, BACK
MATT !

As the great baseball Manager said “It's Not over until it’s Over”
and the election is April 5, 2011

Matt Harrington

Candidate for Aurora’s Alderman at Large

BACK MATT in 2011

Lofchie, Irvin will remain on Aurora ballot
By Andre Salles asalles@stmedianetwork.com Dec 15, 2010 5:36PM
AURORA — The names of incumbent Alderman Richard Irvin and real estate attorney
Judd Lofchie will remain on the April election ballot for alderman at large on the Aurora
City Council.
But a third contender for the position, political consultant Matt Harrington, was booted
off the ballot Wednesday by the Aurora Election Commission Board.
The Election Commission was to conduct four hearings Wednesday on challenges to
election petitions filed by candidates for the council’s at-large seat and for alderman in
the 6th Ward. In the first two hearings, the commission rejected the objections filed
against Irvin and Lofchie.
Community activist Peggy Hicks objected to Lofchie’s petitions, citing numerous errors
in their preparation. Hicks’ attorney, David Camic, enumerated nearly all of those
complaints before the board: Lofchie did not include the names of all four of Aurora’s
counties on his petitions, did not sign deletions and strike-outs, and improperly numbered
his pages.
Lofchie, who is running for alderman at large, admitted to making the errors, but pointed
to case law that requires only “substantial compliance” with the law. Election
Commission Chairman Mike McCoy agreed, and both he and Commissioner Leah
Anderson voted to deny Hicks’ objections.
Commissioner Lillian Perry dissented, saying the petitions did not meet standards. She
chided Lofchie, saying, “Grassroots can kill you if you don’t learn ‘em.”
After the vote, McCoy added his admonishment: “I do think these are sloppy petitions,”
he said. “Read the rules and get it right, it’s not that hard.”
Irvin, running for re-election as alderman at large, successfully defended his right to
notarize his own nominating petitions, so long as he did not collect the signatures
himself. Lofchie filed the objection to Irvin’s petitions, citing Illinois notary law.
The law states that notaries cannot acknowledge any instrument on which the notary’s
name appears as a party. Lofchie presented cases from Pennsylvania and Ohio to back up
his claim.
But Irvin said this is not an illegal practice in Illinois, and since each state drafts its own
election law, other states’ rulings are irrelevant. Further, he said, the Election
Commission board already ruled on a similar objection, between Paul Greviskes and Jim
Murphy, during the last judicial race.
Irvin said he has notarized his own petitions in the past.
All three commissioners voted to deny Lofchie’s objections, but Perry added her own
warning. “It’s a gray area,” she said. “If in doubt, don’t do it.”
Hicks objected to Harrington’s petitions, saying he has not lived in Aurora long enough
to qualify for election to the council. Election law states that candidates in Aurora must
live in the city for at least one year before the election in which they hope to run.
Harrington said he moved from Chicago to Andover Drive in Aurora last November.
Hicks submitted evidence that Harrington was a candidate for the state House of
Representatives in February in Chicago, and voted in the February’s primary election in
Chicago as well.
Harrington said he moved to Aurora to live with his girlfriend, Karen Watson. He
provided an extensive lease, which he said was drafted in November, and includes his
responsibility for household chores, like snow shoveling and lawn mowing, He also
handed in rent receipts for the past year.
Harrington also provided affidavits from three people: a neighbor, the owner of his
Chicago condominium, and the Aurora letter carrier who has delivered his mail since
November. He said he withdrew his candidacy in Chicago shortly after moving to
Aurora.
David Camic questioned Harrington on the authenticity of his lease and receipts, and on
the legitimacy of his relationship with Watson.
“If he had said he fell in love, moved here and established residency, that makes sense,”
he said, “But to try to bootstrap it with a written lease... speaks of convenience and
fraud.”
McCoy and Anderson voted to remove Harrington from the ballot, while Perry voted to
keep Harrington on the ballot. Harrington said he would likely take the matter to court,
The final hearing Wednesday is on objections to the petitions of Isaac Count De Money
Wilson, running for the 6th Ward seat on the council.