DeKalb candidate Linh Nguyen triggers mayoral primary election in February

DeKALB – The filing of a Democratic write-in candidate for mayor of the city of DeKalb has triggered a primary election ahead of the spring, a move that DeKalb County Clerk Tasha Sims called “unprecedented” Friday.

The consolidated primary election will be Feb. 25, with a single race on the ballot. The catch? No one’s name will appear, according to a news release from Sims' office.

Instead, DeKalb city voters – the election is only open to registered voters in city limits – will see an oval and a line meant for a mayoral write-in candidate. Voters will need to fill in the oval and write in a name for their preferred candidate.

Only one person has filed to be a write-in candidate for that primary before the filing window closed Thursday, Sims said: DeKalb resident Linh Nguyen. Nguyen’s name was removed from the city’s ballot in November, but her mayoral campaign has fought to appeal that ruling.

Nguyen said Friday that she was “shocked” by the way Sims' office was framing the triggered primary election.

“I am not asking for special treatment,” Nguyen said to Shaw Local. “I’m asking for the law to be upheld. How can you put a price on a functioning democracy? We have laws to protect people’s choices at the ballot box and defend our democracy.”

Three other DeKalb residents have declared their intent to run for DeKalb mayor, and as of Friday, they are the only names who will appear on the April 1 ballot: incumbent mayor Cohen Barnes; 7th Ward Alderman John Walker; and newcomer Kouame Sanan, an IT employee at Northern Illinois University.

Nguyen’s mayoral ballot was tossed by the city’s election board in November, which ruled she filed her candidacy papers outside of the legal filing window. Nguyen and her campaign have pushed back against the ruling and are actively appealing it in DeKalb County court, records show. That appeal will go before a judge Jan. 30.

“I am continuing my candidacy in the way that was provided by law,” Nguyen said. “I would not have had to do this if they had not eliminated the voters’ right to choose me in the April 1 election.”

Some of Nguyen’s opponents did not agree, however.

Barnes on Friday said he supports efforts by candidates to run for office and believes in elections where voters have multiple choices of candidate. He said he was disappointed, however, that Nguyen did not file her papers during the window every other candidate used.

“In a time right now when finances are tough for a lot of families, especially around the holiday season, this is going to impact the residents of the city of DeKalb and DeKalb County,” Barnes said. “The position of mayor is a really serious position. You have to be fiscally responsible. You have to understand the bigger picture.”

Walker said Friday that he’s excited to be in the running, and he wasn’t spending his time worrying over the fate of Nguyen’s candidacy.

“I’m just tired of hearing about people not following rules and didn’t want to do other things,” Walker said. “Whatever the rules are, I hope that’s what happens, whether it’s good for her or not.”

Sanan was not immediately available for comment.

The DeKalb County Democratic Party released a statement Friday evening through Party Chair Anna Wilhelmi, who said the Party was not involved in or privy to Nguyen’s filing decision which triggered the primary.

“The DeKalb County Democratic Party has worked tirelessly to keep taxes down in DeKalb County, and are dismayed that this primary will be costly to the taxpayers across the County.”

Wilhelmi said the Party remains “neutral” toward all the candidates running for mayor as to “not tip scales in anyone’s favor.”

Paper filing triggered primary: What comes next

Sims said her office and the city of DeKalb received a filing Thursday for Nguyen, who declared her intent to run for mayor as a write-in candidate. Thursday was the final day to file for write-in candidacy, and Nguyen is the only one who filed.

Nguyen’s write-in candidacy at the primary election will only be successful if she receives a certain number of voters in her name, Sims said. The amount must be equal to or more votes than the necessary signatures for her petition. If that happens, her name will appear on the April 1 consolidated election ballot.

Sims, a Republican, called the primary election “unprecedented in DeKalb County’s history,” citing “financial implications” the county government will need to fund for the election. She said the county has not administered a primary consolidated election since 1981.

“Historically, our municipal and townships officials have always filed as independent,” Sims said to Shaw Local on Friday. “They are a partisan election, but they have always run independent.”

Administering a primary election to DeKalb city voters is expected to cost about $100,000, not including labor costs, Sims said. That will be paid by the county, not the city, she said, touting her “small but mighty” team who now needs to prepare for the opening of mail-in and early-voting periods expected to begin Jan. 16.

“Luckily, next year we only have one election in 2025,” Sims said. “I’m hoping that I don’t go over budget with this new election, but if I do find that I may be getting close, I may have to go to the County Board and ask for emergency appropriations.”

This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. to correct an earlier version which included information provided to Shaw Local that was inaccurate regarding the amount of votes Linh Nguyen needs to be successful in the primary election. A 5:37 p.m. update added a statement from the DeKalb County Democratic Party. More updates could occur.