Chicago’s election board voted unanimously Wednesday to remove Ald. Rey Colon (35th) from the March 20 primary ballot for Democratic ward committeeman because he did not collect enough valid signatures from registered voters in the ward.
Colon has served as committeeman since 2004, and his exit leaves only one candidate for the top party post: Nancy Schiavone, a lawyer who unsuccessfully challenged Colon for alderman last year. Schiavone could not be reached for comment.
Colon did not immediately return calls for comment.
Committeemen vote to slate party candidates and fill state and county legislative vacancies. Aldermen frequently run for Democratic ward committeeman to solidify power in their wards, though the position is unpaid and does not have the same influence as it did during the heyday of patronage hiring.
But becoming a committeeman also can help build name recognition for candidates hoping to oust incumbent aldermen.
Colon’s removal from the ballot came after his nominating signatures were challenged by Miguel Sotomayor, who ran for alderman in last year’s election, and Roger Klich, who lives in the ward and once supported Colon.
Michel Dorf, an attorney for Sotomayor and Klich, said the board’s vote against Colon should serve as a lesson for other candidates.
“He only filed about 19 signatures above the minimum that’s required, and that’s just a very risky strategy,” Dorf said after the hearing. “The rule of thumb is you should be filing at least three times the number of signatures, and to file only 19 over the minimum showed a lot of overconfidence.”
Sotomayor and Klich challenged the validity of 162 signatures in Colon’s nomination papers, which would put Colon below the 347 needed to run. Last month, a hearing officer for the board recommended that their objection be upheld.
Colon is the third incumbent ward boss who has encountered trouble staying on the ballot for this year’s primary. Ald. Toni Foulkes (15th) dropped her re-election bid after her nomination papers were challenged. Raymond Lopez, who ran against Foulkes for alderman in last year’s election, will run unopposed for committeeman of that ward.
Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) is currently fighting to stay on the ballot after a preliminary examination by election board officials found he was about 100 signatures short of the required total.