King prevails in Lockport election challenge, will remain on April ballot

Lockport — Susan King, a 1st Ward Lockport alderwoman, will appear on the ballot in the April 1 election despite a challenge to her candidacy.

The Lockport election board met Monday to hear the challenge, which was filed by former Alderman Mark Lobes, who is a candidate for King’s 1st Ward seat.

Lobes objected to King’s filing petitions, claiming that they were full of technical errors, including not numbering the pages of signatures and not clearly putting the title and date of the election at the top of each page.

Lobes also objected to Mayor Steven Streit sitting on the election board and requested that he be recused due to his selection of King for the vacant alderman seat earlier this year and his endorsement of her for a full term.

Streit, however, was not recused from the board, which also included City Clerk Kathy Gentile and Alderman JR Gilogly.

After reviewing the claims, the board voted to let King remain on the ballot.

Had she been removed, Lobes would have been able to run unopposed for the seat. He previously served as an alderman for the 3rd Ward before moving and running unsuccessfully for a 1st Ward seat against Alderman Jonathan Pugh.

“I’m very pleased the election board hearing dismissed the case and determined that not disenfranchising voters outweighed some technicalities that would not have impacted the integrity of the election,” King said. “In the end, they determined it was more important that the voters be given a choice.”

Lobes and King will not be the only heated contest in the Lockport election, as 3rd Ward Alderwoman Christina Bergbower will face a challenge from Timothy Russ, and Streit is being challenged for his seat by Alderman Darren Deskin.