The McHenry Township Republican Central Committee met, but were one vote short of a quorum.
At that meeting both the appointed Township Supervisor Craig Adams and the appointed Township Clerk Marsha Nelson misquoted the law that State Senator Jack Schaffer and I crafted after a divisive Algonquin Township Republican Caucus in 1973.
It was divisive because the contest for Assessor had only a few votes difference out of about 3,000 votes cast in three locations, but counted in the Crystal Lake Central High School Field House.
When caucus loser, incumbent Assessor Forrest B. Hare asked the judges if they were sure the results were correct, they answered in the negative.
Because the party ran the caucus, they could refuse a recount.
The law then allowed those who lost to run as write-in candidates.
WIVS-AM’s Mal Ballairs beat a drum about how unfair this was between the caucus and the April General Election.
Hare won by about a two to one margin on the campaign theme of “Homeowners for Hare.”
At the McHenry GOP meeting of Precinct Committeemen, the following happened, according to McHenry Township Precinct Committeeman Steve Rooney in a comment under this article:
We did however hold meetings on October 15 and 25 to finalize other election activities and discussed whether to hold a Primary Election or a Caucus.
12 committeemen attended with a unanimous straw poll taken…HOLD A PRIMARY.
However 13 is a quorum, therefore no vote could be official. Our incumbent officials
(Craig Adams, appointed Township Supervisor and Township Clerk Marsha Nelson) were definitive in their assertion that in the absence of a vote, the default position is a primary.
Our Republican Chairman Steve Verr and myself accepted the assertion of our sitting officials without due diligence.
We have since been alerted by Erik Sivertsen, (our Republican Treasurer) that the default position is indeed a CAUCUS.
Unfortunate.
Now, Adams and his slate are circulating a flyer urging people to attend the caucus, but failing to reveal that he and his Township Clerk gave bad advice on a GOP primary being the default position.
The campaign piece put out by incumbent McHenry Township officials, all but one of whose incumbents was appointed to office.
In fact, if a township central committee does not ask for a primary election in a township with more than 5,000 people, a caucus is mandatory.
That’s the way the law was written in 1973.
In Wednesday’s Northwest Herald is a letter from George Braun about the caucus, which is described as a “tax-saving process.”
He points out that one must have voted in the Republican Primary Election to be able to participate and that, since there will be opposition, he urges people to plan to attend the causus at the VFW on December 6th.
Attending the same meeting on 10/25 (falsely asserting the default was a primary) were craig Adams, Marsha Nelson, Jim Condon, Gary Barla.
It was made very clear that we did not choose a caucus.
The printed material shown here was not an honest mistake.
It is a well planned deception.
Interesting combination of the elephant with an independent party name.
Is this group a recognized sub-set of the County GOP?
‘McHenry Twp First Party’
Voters should see that an steer clear- McHenry Twp Taxpyers should be “first”
Not that I know.
I hear that the Caucus won’t matter anyway.
None of the folks from the Citizens for McHenry Township First will even be in attendance at the Caucus as they have chosen to run independently.
In fact, they had a very successful fundraiser in Johnsburg this past week.
With support from many holding positions of Village President, Trustee, School Board and two potential candidates for McHenry Mayor.
Mr. Rooney fails to mention that not only will there be a Caucus but that each Precinct Captain will bring weighted votes into the Caucus.
It was decided during the rules meeting the night before Thanksgiving.
I am guessing not one of those Captain’s reached out to the voters in its precinct to let them know that they will be carrying those votes into Caucus.
If we are talking about being transparent you would think those Precinct Captains that voted FOR the weighted votes during the rules process would at least tell the constituents to stay home.
Maybe Mr. Adams did not understand the rules regarding primary vs Caucus but you would think that the Township Republican Committee Chairman would know since he oversees the meeting and needs to know the by-laws of its governing body.
They had to wait to have the Treasurer – Erik Sivertsen check with someone else to find out which was the correct way to elect officials.
Correct me, but isn’t the Treasures job to balance the books, pay the bills and manage the cash flow?
Where did we get the “old” elephant with the non Satanic stars?
Is Adams the same goof who messed up so bad at Pioneer Ctr he in 2014 he resigned in disgrace because of a flub up with a huge grant he missed a deadline on?
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/12/18/pioneer-center-in-trouble/
http://www.nwherald.com/2016/02/12/pioneer-center-faces-possible-shutdown-loss-of-services-expected-in-coming-weeks/a7mel6i/
Kinda creepy!: https://www.facebook.com/106060172782968/videos/vb.106060172782968/752014434854202/?type=2&theater
It’s not “McHenry Township First”
It’s “McHenry Township Officials Help Themselves (to your wallets’ contents) First”
BostonTeaParty:
Give Erik Sivertsen a break, he was only trying to wake up the braindead Township officials who didn’t even know how to keep their overpaid, fake jobs.
Given an expensive party primary – which is paid for by ALL taxpayers, I’d take a caucus every time!
EVERY TIME!
Caucuses are far cheaper than primaries to put together.
All parties need to do is reserve time in local churches and homes, or rent out rooms at public facilities like gymnasiums.
They are run by local volunteers.
Primaries, by contrast, require a lot more work, and the taxpayer foots the big bills.
The transportation of voting machines is expensive, as is the deployment of many paid poll workers.
… and another thing:
Why are the township incumbents running Republican logos on their propaganda when they are supposedly, according to Boston Tea, running as ‘independents.”
Something isn’t right with the picture, but given the under-achieving personalities involved, like long-time County Board do-nothing who was just booted from her sweet spot, Ms. Daffkorn, it all figures somehow in a crazy way.