Ratowitz Challenge to Pulido Petitions thrown out at hearing

Ratowitz’s shotgun challenge of Pulido’s petitions was thrown out at the hearing this afternoon.

The Objector (David Ratowitz) has filed an unverified objection, without any affidavit or other verified evidence in support, claiming the Candidate’s (Rosanna Pulido’s) petitions are insufficient based on an identical “shotgun” objection to all of the more than 900 signatures filed. The (Ratowitz) Objection should be stricken and dismissed because it is not verified, contains no affidavit or other competent evidence of the validity of the matters asserted therein, and therefore presents no evidence whatsoever to overcome the prima facie evidence of the circulators’ affidavits that individually verify each petition. Accordingly, the (Ratowitz) Objection cannot meet the Objector’s burden of proof because it contains no quantum of evidence competent to overcome the verified petitions, thus creates no issue of fact, and therefore must be dismissed pursuant to section 2-615 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure.

That is precisely what occurred; the objection that Ratowitz filed was dismissed.

Following is a response from David:

“That is a quote from a legal brief never actually introduced into the proceedings. My objection was withdrawn pursuant to an agreement with Free & Equal. Contrary to the position advocated by Ms. Pulido’s attorney, the Board of Elections stated (on record) that my objections (both of them) were very detailed.

“It is worth noting that Ms. Pulido’s attorney cites a statute, 2-615, regarding courtroom procedure but which has no relevance to Board of Elections proceedings. Clearly the attorney is unfamiliar with eleciton law and Board of Eleciton procedures, a fact made irrelevant by my decision to withdraw the objection.”

Lisa Wogan
Communications Coordinator
Ratowitz for Congress

Clearly, the communications director has no familiarity with spellcheck. David is a hothead, which is why he challenged both of his opponents to begin with. Is this the sort of individual that needs to be in public office? It is interesting how willing he is to insult others as being unfamiliar with B of E proceedings, but what is clear is that he dropped the challenge to his opponents purely out of self interest. Insults are a familiar tactic to Ron Paulian libertarian truther types, as is his associate Scott Tucker (who is running for Congress), called me a racist and a coward behind the scenes for taking a stand against illegal immigration and writing with a pen name.

November 19, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christina Tobin
Phone: 312-320-4101
Email: Christina@freeandequalinc.com
Website: https://www.freeandequalinc.com/

Free & Equal, Inc., Creates Harmony Across Party Lines In Illinois Challenge Process

Free and Equal, Inc., assisted one candidate in dropping objections before the Illinois Board of Elections on Wednesday. In another case involving Free and Equal clients, a prominent Democrat has volunteered to assist a Republican running for State House in defending the objections against her.

On Wednesday, Republican David Ratowitz, running for U.S. House in District 5, dropped his objections against primary opponents Rosanna Pulido and Ashvin Lad. Free and Equal also counts Pulido as a client.

Ratowitz said, “The expertise that Free and Equal has lent to my petition defense has been considerable. Their willingness and ability to alleviate some of the burden on my campaign in this proceeding is what has allowed me to withdraw my challenges to my opponents.”

Andrew Spiegal, an attorney for Free and Equal, said, “David is taking the high road while navigating this challenge process. Now we can concentrate solely on defending his placement on the Illinois ballot.”

Also on Wednesday, one Free and Equal client, William “Dock” Walls, III, a Democrat for Governor, assisted Republican Deb Leticia Gordils for State House in District 11 at her objection hearing yesterday.

Walls said, “I was pleased to be able to assist Deb Gordils in her effort to remain on the ballot. It is really unfair for the Board of Elections to require Deb to defend against a improper objection papers, which did not have her name on them. It is an honor to stand with Deb against a process that is obviously flawed.”

Attempts to challenge the petitions of both Gordils and Ratowitz can be linked to Kevin Artl, Chief of Staff for Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Artl, however, has denied that he has anything to do with the challenges.

“These challenges are aimed to ensure that only candidates who will help keep Cross in power can appear on the ballot,” said Christina Tobin, Chief Executive Officer of Free and Equal, Inc.

Walls faces a records examination as part of his defense against an objection filed by Janice Dortch, who has been connected with incumbent Pat Quinn. That hearing begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Thompson Center, at 100 W. Randolph St in Chicago, on the 14th floor.

In all, Free and Equal, Inc., now has nine clients from all three parties currently filing candidates for the 2010 elections. They are:

Deb Leticia Gordils, Republican for State House, District 11
Anna Forte-Scott, Republican for State House, District 56
Phil Collins, Republican for State House, District 17
David Ratowitz, Republican for U.S. House, District 5
Rosanna Pulido, Republican for US House, District 5 (objection withdrawn)
William “Dock” Walls, III, Democrat for Governor
Radusa Ostojic, Democrat for Judge in the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County
Daniel J Kairis, Green for U.S. House, District 14
Bill Schuerer, Green for U.S. House, District 8

Free and Equal, Inc. is a full-service, ballot-access consulting and petitioning firm. Free and Equal, Inc. is a nonpartisan firm that works with candidates from across the political spectrum. Free and Equal, Inc. does not endorse any candidates for office.

As Jim Fuchs previously noted in comments here,

As one who is familiar with these cases I can safely say that Ratowitz’ challenges hold no merit, as they’ve been “shotgunned”, that is; he simply challenged every signature as not valid without even LOOKING at them. This tells the Board of Election officials that he has no respect for them nor their valuable time, and that angers them. Ratowitz will leave the hearings after having been admonished (they absolutely HATE shotgun challenges!) So Pulido and Lad have nothing to worry about (except for additional legal fees), but Ratowitz won’t make the cut himself.

In conclusion, the advice any Cook County candidate should follow, is to simply get at least three times the minimum signatures, and make sure your filing is looked at by an election attorney before filing. But for Ratowitz – an “election attorney” – when he gets bounced he’ll have to take “Elections” off his business card or risk being humiliated any further.

So is Jim Fuchs unfamiliar with B of E proceedings also?

See all the Ratowitz posts by clicking on this link. The most recent will be at the top.

You know what’s even funnier about this is David Ratowitz appearance on FOX with Judge Napolitano.

Dear Judge Napolitano: What does the Constitution say about “ballot access”, and what is your view of shotgun challenges to a candidate’s opponents’ petitions? In particular, what is your view about David Ratowitz not granting his opponents ballot access and his attempt to deny their ‘individual liberty’ to run in the 5th District primary race?

This post was updated at 9:47 am on November 19, 2009.