At 1pm today, the Electoral Board of Review will hear counter arguments from Stephanie Holderfield. While the board may make a decision on whether to keep her on the ballot today, I'm not holding my breath.
So how do you think it will unfold? It doesn't appear that Holderfield plans to back down anytime soon:
From
http://www.stephanieholderfield.com/,
We have the challenge, and
THE CHALLENGE WILL BE MET.
Is is my understanding that either side can appeal a decision by the local review board. I hope that Holderfield remains on the ballot so the
voters decide whether or not she should be the Republican nominee for Circuit Clerk. While there are strong and mixed opinions, it seems the general feeling is that:
- The system needs to be reformed in the future and there should be fewer restrictions to get on the ballot.
- In the spirit of fairness, rules should be followed and enforced the same for everyone.
- No matter how you cut it, this has been a divisive issue and does not reflect well on the republican party.
- While people are not excited about the situation, people are not surprised Holderfield is the middle of an ugly fight.
Stephen Frank's attorney came prepared to the last hearing and it will be interesting to see if Holderfield will be able to present a strong counter argument based on code and precedent. Since Holderfield (Republican) has admitted that she signed Ben Carlson's (Democrat) petition and Ben Carlson claims he was never asked (or doesn't recall) to take her name off the petition, it will be interesting to see if Holderfield can legally stay on the ballot and, in my opinion, it will simply depend on the strength of Holdefield's legal argument.
If you are a fan of political drama, stay tuned. If Holderfield's legal argument is not clear-cut, this has the potential to turn ugly. Even if Holderfield remains on the ballot, this has the potential to turn ugly. I have a feeling we'll be talking about the Circuit Clerk race one way or another in the coming weeks...
Keep an eye on my twitter feed for updates.
UPDATE 1:
Affidavit - Stephanie Holderfield-1.pdf
Affidavit - Todd Holderfield-2.pdf
Candidate's Brief in Opposition of Objector's Petition-2.pdf