According to U.S. Green Technology, Environmentalist Candidate for Chicago Water Reclamation District Commissioner, Adam Miguest, Sues Rival for Allegedly Trying to Keep Him off the Ballot Unconstitutionally

CHICAGO, Feb. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Adam Miguest, a Democratic environmentalist candidate for Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioner, and endorsed by U.S Green Technology, has filed a lawsuit against rival candidate Josina Morita, her Friends of Morita campaign committee and Mecole Castillo; he claims that these individuals tried to deny him ballot access in an unconstitutional attempt to control the outcome of the race.

The issue revolves around a campaign committee that Miguest helped to create, called Leaders for Water Reclamation, in order to circulate nomination papers and raise money. According to the complaint, Miguest and two other candidates who created the committee – Thomas Courtney and John Xydakis – obtained 18,070 signatures. This was done to ensure that they would easily meet the minimum requirement of 7,305 signatures even if some of the signors ended up being "bad" due to not being registered voters or giving bad addresses.

However, Castillo filed a boilerplate objection with the Cook County Election Board against the three candidates' nomination papers. She objected to 13,030 of the signatures and stated that the three men thus were ineligible to run because the nomination papers contained fewer than the required 7,305 signatures. In this situation, the objected opponents assume the burden of proving their eligibility, "usually without any type of reasonable investigation or due diligence into the allegations of the objection," according to Miguest's complaint.

According to the complaint, "It is a well-known practice in Cook County, Illinois that rival candidates use 'straw' persons to file objections against opponents in an attempt to deny them ballot access or in the alternative to harass their opponent and require them to expand sums of money to remain on the ballot." Miguest claimed that Morita, who appeared to have used Castillo as a "straw" person to file the objection, also paid other individuals to fraudulently check signatures. He argued that Morita purposefully interfered with his constitutional right to run for office without interference.

The lawsuit is relevant to the green movement in Chicago, as the water reclamation commissioner position is essential for protecting public health and the environment by treating wastewater in a safe manner and managing it as a vital resource. In addition, Courtney, one of the candidates who helped to form the Leaders for Water Reclamation campaign committee with Miguest, was recognized by U.S. Green Technology in 2011 when he was a 27^th Ward alderman candidate for his efforts to improve the Chicago River.

U.S. Green Technology was established in 2009 with the goal of making readers aware of news in the areas of green technology, new green start-ups, changes in green business and green employment. The site focuses on new technology being released throughout the United States to combat climate change and preserve the earth as well as to create more jobs domestically and stimulate the economy.

SOURCE U.S. Green Technology