“Given that the board chose to not even have the candidate put on any evidence or a case, that is bizarre. They usually at least make the defense put something to have a full record, even if the decision is a forgone conclusion to (the board),” said attorney Ross Secler, disappointed in the ruling made Friday morning on an objection his client, Arian Ahmadpour, had to the nomination petition of Naperville mayoral candidate Tiffany Stephens.
Stephens earned the right to remain on the April 4, 2023 Consolidated Election ballot after the decision in her favor by the Naperville Electoral Board.
Challenge of Stephens
Ahmadpour filed objections last week to the nomination petitions of both Stephens and Naperville City Council candidate Derek McDaniel. Stephens’ candidacy for mayor was being challenged over a residency issue. The objector claimed Stephens had only become a resident of Naperville on June 30, 2022, when she bought her current residence. This case alleged Stephens did not meet the durational residency requirements under the Illinois Municipal Code, which is one year prior to the election.
“Every official address she had, whether with the federal government, or with her voting, were all to an address in the City of Aurora, which happened to be in Naperville Township,” said Secler.
Struggles with Homelessness
Issues surrounding the residency of Stephens included a period in her life where she was homeless in the City of Naperville.
“She did have a time period where she was homeless, and it was during that time period she was trying to purchase a house in Naperville,” said attorney Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, who represented Stephens in the hearing. “She had another contact that did go through, and we were arguing she satisfied the one year provision. But the whole time she did live in Naperville.”
Part of that time Stephens was staying at the office of her business Kids Teen Rider where she works to provide rides to children primarily to and from school, church or work.
“I do want to give back to Naperville, and it’s so unfortunate that my life has to be an open mirror for everyone,” said Stephens. “Aside from being homeless and not having a place to go, (I) still made sure the residents of Naperville were taken care of.”
Electoral Board Ruling and Possible Appeal
Krafthefer motioned for a directed finding, arguing that the objector had not met his burden of proof to show the candidate lived someone other than Naperville for that time period.
The Electoral Board voted 2-1 in favor of the directed finding. Stephens will remain on the ballot in the April election.
“My whole 25 years I’ve been out here, it’s been me doing things for the community and putting myself aside to help other people and other children,” said Stephens. “I’m going to continue to prove myself to the community as a leader.”
Secler said he and the objector would “strongly contemplate” appealing the Naperville Electoral Board’s decision.
If Stephens’ case is appealed, it will go to the circuit court of DuPage County, which would review the case and decide whether or not the motion was properly granted in anticipation of that process.
Additional Electoral Board Rulings
At a hearing earlier in the week, two other candidates for Naperville City Council with disputed nomination petitions also earned the right to remain on the April 4, 2023 Consolidated Election ballot after rulings in their favor.
Both Derek McDaniel and Nag Jaiswal will continue to be in the running for one of the four open seats on the ballot for the Naperville City Council.
Naperville News 17’s Will Payne reports.
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