Even though there is no election this fall, the Republican party leader in Addison Township is taking a swipe at his Democratic rivals.
Addison Township Republican Chairman Patrick Durante threw down the gauntlet this week and challenged Democrats in the township to be open with the public and not hide behind their political bosses when it comes to filing election petitions.
In a statement issued July 13, Durante also said the two democratic candidates who ran for the DuPage County Board in District 1 last year were recently fined by the Illinois State Board of Elections for campaign finance violations, an accusation that the democratic township boss in Addison denies.
Durante also claims that Democrat candidates in DuPage County never file the required number of voter signatures, but instead wait for the convenience of being appointed to fill vacancies for office at a Democrat convention. Durante referred to them as “hypocrites.”
“They talk about fair, open, honest elections, but they prefer having the Democrat bosses in DuPage County pick them as candidates instead of having Democrat voters choose by signing a petition for their favored candidate,” Durante said.
Durante singled out Bob Peickert and Rita Gonzalez, both Democrats who ran against DuPage County Board District 1 candidates Yolanda Campuzano and Donald Puchalski in the general election last November, as examples of “Democrat candidates who hide from the voters.”
Art Remus, chairman of the democratic organization in Addison Township, said Democrats are not hiding, but are just not out in force because they are a much smaller group. He said both Gonzalez and Peickert ran strong campaigns last year, and campaigned much on their own. Both finished the election with more than 43 percent of the vote, and each received more than 16,000 votes.
“It is no secret that the township, and DuPage County, is a Republican stronghold,” Remus said. “But the county is balancing out, and I believe within 10 years, Democrats will be in the majority. Durante is running scared.”
Durante also claims both Gonzalez and Peickert were fined $2,500 each by the Illinois State Board of Elections for improper campaign finance disclosure, an accusation that Remus denies.
Peickert said he has not been fined. He said the Board of Elections is reviewing his case because of a “common error” made in the disclosure process, but he indicated it is doubtful he will be fined. A decision is expected later this month, he said.
Peickert called the accusations by Durante a smear tactic on his name, and vowed that he will run for office again.
“He is trying to smear my name because I raised only $3,000 last year for my campaign, and my opponent had to raise more than $100,000 to win the seat,” Peickert said. “And I still got 44.8 percent of the vote.”
Peickert said he plans to seek the office of Addison Township supervisor in 2009, currently held by Kathryn Cermak-Durante, Patrick Durante’s wife.
Gonzalez could not be reached for comment.
Remus said Democrats don’t have a big organization behind them the way the Republicans do, and much of their work is done by “small, grassroots politics.”
“Contrary to what Durante says, there’s no rubber-stamping anything with us,” Remus said.
But Durante said the Republicans will be out in full force when it comes to petition filing time, and the organization is proud to back them.
“I don’t think they (the Democrats) want to be going door-to-door asking Democrat voters to sign their petitions,” Durante said. “Instead, they will let the Democrat party bosses put them on the ballot.”
