Two of the five candidates who filed to run for Gaithersburg City Council this year were disqualified Monday night after failing to collect 100 signatures from registered city voters.
The disqualifications leaves the three incumbents running unopposed for re-election, not counting possible write-in votes. The filing deadline to get on the ballot was last week.
Juan Aguirre, a State Farm Insurance agent, and Nicole Ukiteyedi, an administrative assistant at Shady Grove Medical Center, were determined not to have met the 100-signature requirement at Monday’s Board of Supervisors of Elections meeting, City Attorney Lynn Board said in an interview Tuesday.
Board said Ukiteyedi submitted 202 signatures, 85 of which were valid. Aguirre submitted 118 signatures, 92 of which were valid. She said it is not common for city council candidates to be disqualified based on the signature requirement.
“It’s my understanding it has happened before, but not for many years,” she said.
Board said the “vast majority” of the invalid signatures stemmed from the people either not being a Gaithersburg resident or not being registered to vote in Montgomery County.
“Other discrepancies include things such as the individual’s handwriting being illegible so that the board could not determine the name or address or the individual’s date of birth not matching the information on the voter rolls,” she wrote in an email.
Board said Aguirre and Ukiteyedi can appeal the Board of Supervisors’ decision by requesting a public hearing. The candidates would need to present evidence, Board said, that shows the signatures are valid.
Board added that Aguirre and Ukiteyedi also may run as write-in candidates.
Aguirre said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that he would not appeal the board’s decision but planned to run as a write-in candidate.
“If they went through the process and looked at every one of the signatures, I’ll abide by what the committee says. I’m not interested in going through a public motion,” he said.
Aguirre said he only entered the race in May and had less time to become familiar with the process than others who entered earlier. The board’s decision means incumbent City Council members Neil Harris, Ryan Spiegel and Robert Wu will be on the ballot unopposed as they seek reelection to their respective seats.
Candidate filings were due Thursday.
The Board of Supervisors on Monday night certified candidates who met all requirements to appear on the ballot.
The signature threshold is among a set of requirements for candidacy listed in an elections packet posted to the city’s website. Other requirements including submitting a candidate statement, a candidate statement and bio, a financial disclosure statement and a campaign finance report.
Gaithersburg holds its city elections in odd-numbered years, with the mayor and council members serving staggered four-year terms.
Residents can use the city’s website to determine their polling place on Election Day, which is Nov. 5. In addition to Election Day, city residents may vote early Oct. 26 and 27 at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@bethesdmagazine.com
