DeKalb mayoral candidate’s legal dispute tossed by judge; ruling unlikely to affect her ballot chances

DeKALB – A DeKalb County judge this week tossed a bid by DeKalb mayoral candidate Linh Nguyen in her ongoing election legal dispute with the city, although the ruling isn’t likely to affect Nguyen’s chances to be on the April 1 ballot.

The DeKalb resident still is running as a write-in Democrat for DeKalb mayor on Tuesday’s primary election ticket, the only race that will appear on the ballot. If Nguyen is successful in that race, it’s expected that her name also will appear along with three others running for mayor April 1.

In a statement released late Thursday, Nguyen reiterated previous claims that city attorneys have unfairly targeted her to disrupt her chances to run in the race.

“[T]he city went through a costly court process to keep me off the ballot,” Nguyen said in a statement. “From where I sit, this looks like an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars, all in an attempt to block my access to the ballot.”

It’s a similar argument others have made against her. In December, DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Tasha Sims, a Republican, called the triggered primary election “unprecedented” and said it would cost countywide taxpayers $100,000. The DeKalb County Democratic Party put out a statement distancing itself from Nguyen’s actions, saying that the party was “dismayed” about primary election costs.

Nguyen is running against incumbent Mayor Cohen Barnes, 7th Ward Alderman John Walker and Kouame Sanan, who works in Northern Illinois University’s IT department. All three men’s names will appear on the April 1 consolidated election ballot.

And on Tuesday, primary election results could determine whether Nguyen’s name will be there, too, regardless of Thursday’s judicial ruling.

Primaries ahead of municipal elections are not unusual, however. Including DeKalb, 18 Illinois counties are holding primary elections Tuesday ahead of April, including neighboring McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Will, Grundy, DuPage and Cook counties, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Sims said DeKalb County has not administered a primary consolidated election since 1981.

Thursday’s ruling by Associate Judge Jill Konen is the latest in a months-long legal dispute between Nguyen’s campaign and city of DeKalb lawyers as Nguyen attempts to secure her place in the race.

In November, the DeKalb Electoral Board tossed Nguyen’s name from the mayor’s ballot, ruling that she hadn’t filed her candidacy papers properly. The ruling was prompted by a complaint filed by DeKalb resident Albert William Vodden.

Nguyen filed to run for DeKalb mayor Oct. 25.

The Illinois State Board of Elections website lists the filing window for nonpartisan candidates as Oct. 21 through Oct. 28. The filing window listed for independent election candidates is Nov. 12 through Nov. 18.

Nguyen argued that she filed her papers on the legal advice of her Chicago-based campaign attorney Ed Mullen using information provided to her by the DeKalb city and county clerks' offices.

Earlier this month, city attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Nguyen’s court complaint, which had sought to appeal the city’s Electoral Board ruling. Nguyen’s campaign filed a counter motion, asking Konen to deny the city’s appeal, records show.

On Thursday, Konen ruled in favor of the city of DeKalb. In her ruling, Konen said she believes local election code could be clearer, however.

In Jan. 21 court filings, City Attorney Matthew Rose argued that Nguyen’s mayoral primary bid negated her legal challenges regarding the city’s November decision to toss her from the ballot.

“I’m not going to dismiss it based on mootness,” Konen said.

Instead, Konen ruled that the DeKalb Electoral Board’s decision to bump Nguyen’s name from the ballot was sound since she did not file her papers in what Konen ruled was the allowed window.

Nguyen – who listed infrastructure, government transparency, public safety, and a diverse and sustainable economy as her campaign priorities – also pointed blame to the city, arguing that her campaign wasn’t given enough information in public records requests to make an informed decision about when to file her papers.

“As a community, we need to make access to the ballot easier, not harder, to encourage people from all walks of life to participate in our democracy,” Nguyen said in a statement. “Our system creates unnecessary barriers disproportionately affecting those without significant resources or political power.”

Shaw Local reporter Megann Horstead contributed to this report.