Town judge nearly assured re-election
Republicans offer no alternative as May primary votes to be certified
NWI Times
Jul 1, 2003
nwitimes.com/news/local/town-judge-nearly-assured-re-election/article_5471f608-4075-504b-bb85-11cf42d8ae5b.html
SCHERERVILLE -- With her controversial 11-vote primary win nearly official and Republicans staying clear, Schererville Town Judge Deborah Riga is almost certain to win another four-year term.
Democratic primary challenger Kenneth Anderson lost his fight Friday to throw out a batch of potentially tainted absentee ballots that could have handed him the primary. Anderson can appeal, but has not yet decided whether to do so.
Meanwhile, Lake Superior Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura is poised to certify May's vote tally: Riga's 1,151 to Anderson's 1,140. The election panel's 2-1 decision to uphold the vote totals despite evidence of voter fraud is now on her desk.
In addition, the county's Republican leadership failed to field a candidate for November's general election by Monday's deadline, saying they couldn't find a party member who was qualified and willing to take Riga on.
"It's disappointing," said John Curley, Lake County Republican Party chairman.
Riga may have been easy prey given the questions about her campaign tactics dredged up during an investigation into the primary's results.
Anderson's challenge to the eyebrow-raising, tight vote revealed several cases of suspected voter fraud and raised numerous questions about a local political novice who canvassed the town's east side, signing up Serbian voters whose ballot signatures were later questioned by election panel officials as well as Anderson.
Anderson, a Schererville lawyer, found four absentee voters who apparently voted illegally because they didn't live in the district. Three of those voters actually live in Norridge, Ill. The other was allegedly from Crown Point.
The applications for those mail-in ballots and nearly all the absentee ballots in the town's 10th Precinct on the east side were evidently filled out, at least in part, by Bob "Bosko" Grkinich. Anderson had more votes at the polls, but Riga squeaked by with the help of absentee ballots.
Grkinich, who has strong roots in the Serbian community, is a Democratic precinct committeeman.
The majority of the election panel said it lacked the power to only throw out the tainted votes, but didn't feel the corruption was rampant enough to trash all the votes from the east side precinct.
Anderson declined to comment Monday.
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