Judge candidates back in court
Decision expected today on whether to dismiss case; Anderson appeals recount
NWI Times
Jul 10, 2003
nwitimes.com/news/local/judge-candidates-back-in-court/article_686e3104-221a-589f-8f5c-82aacc13181a.html
CROWN POINT -- A Lake County judge is expected to decide this afternoon whether to proceed with Kenneth Anderson's challenge to his 11-vote loss in May's town judge primary, which he charges was laden with fraud.
Lake Superior Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura also is expected to set a date to hear his appeal of an election panel's decision to not throw out illegal votes.
Anderson lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Town Judge Deborah Riga. His fight to throw out more than 11-votes has been crawling through the legal system. Through it all he has contended Riga squeaked out a win because a local political novice strong armed absentee votes in an east side precinct.
An election panel ruled four votes in that precinct illegal because they were in the names of people who hadn't lived in town for several years. It also questioned several signatures on mail-in ballots. But it ruled 2-1 that the corruption wasn't rampant enough to justify discarding all the mail-in ballots from that area.
Anderson now is appealing that decision to Bonaventura. He also is challenging the election, hoping to convince Bonaventura the primary was so tainted a new one is required in the precinct he uncovered the alleged fraud.
Bonaventura listened Wednesday to the arguments surrounding Anderson's challenge.
Riga's attorney's told the judge Anderson has missed the legal deadline to move forward with the challenge, which was June 25.
"One of the most important things in an election is finality," said Robert Vann, Riga's attorney.
But Anderson said he didn't discover the fraud until just recently and deserves more time to make his case.
"This should not be thrown out of court because of some technicality," said Nathaniel Ruff, Anderson's attorney. "We found substantial fraud."
If granted the time, Anderson said he plans to question more than 20 absentee voters from the 10th Precinct in the Novo Selo neighborhood. Twenty-four absentee ballots were counted from that area, 23 of which supported Riga.
He also wants to question the man he accuses of orchestrating the absentee voter fraud -- Bob "Bosko" Grkinich, a local Democratic precinct committeeman. Three ballots in the names of Illinois residents were mailed to his sister's Crown Point home, which he visits often to care for his mother.
"We are hoping to get him in," Anderson said.
Grkinich has not returned recent phone calls for comment.
Anderson is asking for two to three weeks to question absentee voters before presenting the evidence in court. And the first hearing on the recount appeal won't be set until today.
Whoever wins the upcoming courtroom matches will take the bench in Schererville, dishing out justice for local traffic violators and minor law infractions. The Republican Party has failed to field a candidate in November's general election.
In other matters, Ruff recently was signed on by Anderson, and Bonaventura told the court Wednesday that Ruff had represented her in legal wranglings over the county's new courthouse several years ago. She volunteered to recuse herself, but Riga's attorney's said they trusted her objectivity.
Ruff also is representing East Chicago City Councilman George Pabey, D-at large, in his recount challenge against his loss to eight-term incumbent Mayor Robert Pastrick. Absentee ballots also are being targeted in that recount.
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