One gay man has withdrawn from the 8th Subcircuit judicial race and another has stood up to a petition challenge. The candidacies of both Jay Paul Deratany and John Ehrlich were challenged by fellow gay male candidate Jon Erickson. Erickson's campaign withdrew the challenge to Erlich on the last day possible.
Lesbian attorney Sherry Pethers is also on the ballot in the race.
'After an exhaustive review of petition signatures by City Board of Elections workers it became clear that our nominating petitions were indeed valid and John H. Ehrlich had met the requirements to be a candidate,' said Susana Darwin, Chair of the Committee to Elect John H. Ehrlich. 'Erickson finally withdrew this spurious objection when it became clear he was going to be overruled before the State Board of Elections.'
'We gathered more than twice as many signatures as were required by law and this frivolous legal action was an insult to the citizens who signed Ehrlich's petitions and wanted a real choice for Judge on March 16,' Darwin stated.
'I think it's unfortunate that people would challenge my petitions, especially given the way the objection sheets looked,' Erlich said. 'They objected to almost every signature. I personally checked every signature in Springfield.'
The practice of challenging an opponent's petition signatures is a longstanding tradition in Illinois politics. Just last year, Tom Tunney was accused of harassing fellow candidate Karen Kennedy with legal challenges.
'The minimum signature requirement is there to ensure the candidacies of those seeking a place on the ballot have some viability,' Erickson said. 'These laws are not self-enforced—the board of elections doesn't check themselves, [they leave] it up to citizens or the candidates to challenge. Because I have respect for the integrity of the process, I worked very hard to abide by the law and collect and submit the requisite number of signatures.'
'The objection filed against my petitions, while in my opinion legally invalid, will cause me to spend a considerable amount of time in court fighting to remain on the ballot,' Deratany told his supporters in withdrawing from the race. 'While I do not think one of my opponents, Jon Erickson, should have orchestrated the filing of the objections, it has had the effect of significantly slowing my campaign.'