Judge orders city employee to testify as appeal to DeKalb alderman’s ballot status comes down to wire

DeKALB – A DeKalb County judge ordered a DeKalb city employee Thursday to testify how she collected City Council incumbent Scott McAdams’ candidacy papers in December, the latest as an appeal to oust McAdams from the April 4 ballot comes down to the wire.

As a result, DeKalb City Council incumbent McAdams won’t know until Monday afternoon, just hours before polls open Tuesday, if his name will remain on the ballot pending a monthslong appeal by his political opponents to remove it. McAdams declined to comment when reached Thursday, but has said before he expects his ballot status to remain.

McAdams’ attorney, Anna Wilhelmi, who also chairs the DeKalb County Democratic Party, said she was surprised at Circuit Court Chief Judge Bradley Waller’s decision to remand the matter back to the city’s Electoral Board.

“I mean, it’s the judge’s call,” Wilhelmi said.

Waller earlier this week voiced concerns about the Electoral Board’s handling of the matter, but said he couldn’t make a decision without further information. On Thursday, he called an unexpected morning hearing and ordered the matter back to the city’s Electoral Board for clarification.

“Scott McAdams, I want to make clear, is still on the ballot, if anybody has suggested otherwise.”

—  Anna Wilhelmi, lawyer for DeKalb incumbent 5th Ward candidate Scott McAdams

Waller’s concerns center on how to weigh the testimony of DeKalb city employee Ruth Scott, who accepted petitions, including McAdams’ filed by the candidates Dec. 12 at City Hall. McAdams’ spot on the ballot was first under contention in January, when petitions filed by McAdams’ political opponents – write-in candidate challenger Derek Van Buer and DeKalb resident Mark Charvat – alleged McAdams hadn’t properly bound his paperwork.

The January petitions to oust McAdams were overruled by the city’s Electoral Board, a ruling Charvat and Van Buer have fought since. The city’s Electoral Board is made up of Mayor Cohen Barnes, 7th Ward Alderman Tony Faivre and City Clerk Sasha Cohen.

During the city’s January hearing, Scott did not give live testimony but provided a sworn affidavit of her account of the day McAdams filed his candidacy papers at City Hall. Charvat and Van Buer argue that Scott should have provided live testimony and been subject to questions.

The city of DeKalb promptly published an agenda for the remanded Electoral Board meeting, which is set for 10 a.m. Monday in the second floor training room of the DeKalb Police Department, 700 W. Lincoln Highway.

The meeting will reconvene a hearing on Charvat vs. McAdams and Van Buer vs. McAdams, the initial petitions filed in opposition to McAdams’ candidate filings.

Scott, as ordered by Waller, is expected to provide testimony in person Monday. A second hearing that day will convene in front of Waller at 2 p.m. at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore Monday, where the judge is expected to decide whether the Electoral Board’s decision in favor of McAdams was the right one.

McAdams is the only candidate whose name will appear on the ballot for 5th Ward in the DeKalb City Council’s election. Thomas Riley also is running as a write-in for 5th Ward alderman.

If Waller rules in favor of Van Buer – arguing that the DeKalb city’s Electoral Board erred when it overturned petitions to unseat McAdams in January – McAdams’ name still would appear on the ballots, which already have been printed.

DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Tasha Sims previously said that early votes cast for McAdams would also be voided, however, and voters would not be allowed to recast a vote for the 5th Ward aldermanic seat.

Wilhelmi said she doesn’t see how Scott giving live testimony would make a difference in the case. Wilhelmi said she trusts Scott’s sworn written affidavit testimony initially presented in January.

Van Buer could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Charvat said he believes Waller’s request is fair.

“He wants to hear from the witness that he believes is probably the best witness as far as what happened as she was the individual who took in the candidate papers,” Charvat said.

Wilhelmi echoed concerns she voiced earlier this week, that DeKalb voters might see headlines or references to ongoing appeals about McAdams’ ballot spot and be confused about his candidacy status, which remains legitimate until a judge rules differently.

“Scott McAdams, I want to make clear, is still on the ballot, if anybody has suggested otherwise,” Wilhelmi said.