One of the four candidates in the Democrat mayoral race for the City of Urbana has received a formal candidacy objection from the Diane Marlin camp. Michael Langendorf, who donated funds to Marlin’s 2017 mayoral campaign, is arguing to have newcomer candidate Verdell Jones III removed from the ballot for mayor.
Langendorf filed his objection with the Urbana City Clerk’s Office on December 2nd. The objection alleges that Mr. Jones may not have lived in Urbana long enough to qualify as a candidate, though much of that part of the objection seems to be speculative, and is only able to question the one year residency requirement by a matter of days or weeks. Langendorf also argues that Jones did not indicate on his petition forms that he was running as a Democrat.
Langendorf used the same attorney and law firm (Chicago firm Matthew & Drnovsek Law) that Cunningham Township Assessor Wayne Williams used for his formal objection to Meghan McDonald’s Ward 5 City Council petition. In Williams’s objection, he and his attorney, Abraham Matthew, attempt to use minor technicalities to disqualify McDonald. Their rationale for her disqualification goes as far as to cite unclear handwriting of the word “Urbana” on one of her forms.
Curiously, Langendorf’s formal objection to Verdell Jones’s candidacy indicates Cook County on the verification page, instead of Champaign County. For an attorney who argues that minor “irregularities” should cause disqualifications, one has to wonder what Matthew was thinking.
Following the Matthew & Drnovsek Law Firm logic from the Williams v. McDonald objection, Langendorf’s objection should easily be disqualified for listing the wrong county on the notary page. Since Abraham Matthews is representing both objections at tomorrow’s electoral board hearing, perhaps he will explain why technicalities should apply to others but not to his clients.
An Urbana Electoral Board Hearing will take place at 1:30pm on Monday December 7th, 2020 wherein Michael Langendorf and Verdell Jones will be allowed to argue their positions. The Illinois Election Code indicates that the electoral board shall be composed of the mayor, the clerk, and the council member who has served the greatest number of years on the council. However, Diane Marlin and Dennis Roberts are conflicted out of serving on the board, since they are both also running for mayor. The Election Code indicates that the next most-senior members of the City Council should serve. Therefore, the likely electoral board members would be:
- Phyllis Clark, City Clerk (appointed by Marlin June 8, 2020, and currently running for reelection)
- Bill Brown, Ward 4 Alderman
- Jared Miller (Ward 7) -or- Maryalice Wu (Ward 1)
Check CU has contacted Urbana City Officials twice in the past two days in an attempt to find clarification on the electoral board, but no clear answer has been issued.
Related documents:
Michael Langendorf vs. Verdell Jones III Objection to Petition, stamped December 2, 2020
The City of Urbana December 7th 2020 Electoral Board Hearing Agenda
The City of Urbana December 7th 2020 Electoral Board Hearing Agenda – Amended on 2020-12-05
-Christopher Hansen, Urbana