[Peace-discuss] Annette Williams in the News

[Jan & Durl Kruse]

Wealth of write-ins brings primary in Champaign District 1
By Mike Monson

Tuesday December 30, 2008

CHAMPAIGN – A last-minute flurry of write-in candidates for the city  
council in District 1 is forcing a Feb. 24 primary.

Deputy City Attorney Trisha Crowley said five candidates on Friday  
filed declarations of intent to be write-in candidates for the city  
council in District 1, which covers the northeastern part of the city.  
State election law provides that if more than four write-in candidates  
file a notice of intent within 61 days before an election, a primary  
must be held, she said.

Friday was the last day a write-in candidate could file a notice of  
intent to force a primary.

The write-in candidates are Steve Rhoden, 1011 N. Sixth St.; Ronnie  
Claiborne, 312 W. Maple St.; Charles Thomas, 311 E. Park St.; Freddie  
Gordon, 109 E. Church St.; and Annette Williams, 505 Louisiana Ave.

They will be primary candidates along with the only candidate to file a  
petition to seek the seat, William Kyles II, 408 Taylor Thomas Lane.  
Only Kyles' name will appear on the primary ballot.

The top two vote-getters would advance out of the primary to the April  
7 general election, although Champaign County Clerk Mark Shelden said  
there is some uncertainty about whether a write-in candidate needs to  
receive a minimum number of votes to appear on the April ballot.

"We'll get it nailed down in the next day or two," Shelden said.

The political maneuvering is occurring following Gina Jackson's  
decision not to seek re-election to a second term in District 1, after  
she had taken out candidacy petitions and obtained signatures from  
voters.

Jackson said the decision was prompted by the ill health of both her  
brother, Steve Jackson, who died Dec. 18, and her mother.

Jackson said she now supports Kyles for the council seat. She said she  
kept quiet about her intentions until the last minute so Kyles might be  
able to run without opposition.

"I didn't want everybody coming out of the woodwork, so the taxpayers  
wouldn't have to pay for a primary," she said.

She also said she told Kyles about her decision not to run and  
encouraged him to seek the council seat the weekend before candidates  
could begin filing candidacy petitions, Dec. 6-7. She did not publicly  
declare her intentions until Dec. 15, the filing deadline.

Though candidates for city council in Champaign run on a nonpartisan  
basis, Jackson, a Democrat, conceded her actions have probably upset  
some fellow Democrats. Kyles works part-time for U.S. Rep. Timothy  
Johnson, R-Urbana, and ran unsuccessfully this year as a Republican  
candidate for the Champaign County Board.

The person filing the notices for the five write-in candidates was Tony  
Fabri, the county Democratic chairman and also the county auditor.

Fabri said he believes that Freddie Gordon will likely be the only  
write-in candidate to campaign actively for the council seat.

Gordon could not be reached for comment.

"I'm glad voters will now have a choice in District 1," Fabri said.

Jackson said she has worked with Kyles in his capacity as a  
congressional aide and that she's been impressed.

"We don't agree on everything, but he (Kyles) would work very, very  
hard for the district," she said. "He's a conscientious, hard-working  
young man."

Kyles, 26, works in quality control at Kraft in Champaign and part time  
as an outreach coordinator for Johnson's office.

"I like campaigning," he said about his primary challengers. "My  
initial reaction is if these contenders were actually contenders, they  
would have had their paperwork in on time" to appear on the ballot.
  Find this article at:
   
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2008/12/30/wealth_of_write- 
ins_brings_primary_in_champaign_district_1
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