No Convicted Felons Allowed on Crestwood Board (For Real This Time)

Updated: April 11, 4 p.m.

A candidate in this year's Crestwood Board of Aldermen election was found to have a felony conviction--a violation of the city's terms for serving office. His candidacy has raised questions among current aldermen who don't want to see the situation repeated.

Mary Stadter will serve as Ward 2's newest aldermanic representative. South County Times first reported last month that her opponent, Bill Schelinski, filed for candidacy despite being convicted of aggravated assault several years ago. The conviction made him ineligible for a board seat, according to the city. 

Schelinski said the documents he received from the city when filing did not mention felony convictions. Here's an excerpt from his statement on Crestwood Independent:

"The City of Crestwood presented me a 'packet' of information that included amongst other things (a ward map for example) a legal 'Notice & Affidavit for Persons Desiring to be a Candidate for Municipal Office.' It was the first document given to me to read and sign. I read the requirements that are as follows: 'No person shall be certified as a candidate for municipal office, nor shall such person's name appear on the ballot as a candidate for such office, who shall be in arrears for any unpaid city taxes or municipal user fees on the last day to file a declaration of candidacy for the office.' Now please notice that there is NO MENTION OF ANY PAST CONVICTIONS. I even asked the clerk, 'That's it?', and the answer was to the affirmative. This document was witnessed and notarized by the City Clerk. In addition, I was given a copy of a memo from Jeff Schlink, Mayor, and Office of the City Clerk that contains 'Excerpts from the Crestwood Municipal Code:' Which includes Chapter 2 Article II Board of Alderman, Sec. 2-21. Qualifications. 'No person shall be an alderman unless he is at least twenty-one (21) years of age, a citizen of the United States, an inhabitant and resident in the city for one (1) year next preceding his election, a qualified voter of the city and a resident of the ward from which elected for at least (90) days prior to the date of election. No person's name shall be placed upon the ballot who, at the time of filing for candidacy for alderman, is in the arrears for any city taxes. (Ord. No 10, [subsection or paragraph] 1, 8-23-49; Code 1965, [subsection or paragraph] 3.01; Ord. No. 1759, [subsection]1,10-9-77.' Again please note there is NO MENTION of prior conviction.

"Having read and signed a legal affidavit, and the above memo quoting the Municipal Code, why would I think that there would be any other language that would include requirements not stated in those documents? I know that there are city officials that have never even read the Charter. I wasn't trying to pull one over on anyone. There is a clear inconsistency between a legal document I signed, the Municipal Code and the Charter," he wrote.

Due to the timing of the news, Schelinski's name could not be removed from the April 2 ballot. 

Read more: Crestwood Candidate Will Stay on Ballot

While felony convictions are mentioned in the city's charter, Ward 1 Alderman Darryl Wallach said he noticed the city's municipal code does not include the same language. (Felony convictions are a disqualification for city employees, according to the code.)

Ward 1 Alderman Mimi Duncan asked City Administrator Mark Sime Tuesday "if anything had been put in place to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"I don't like to be the lead on Channel 4 news that a convicted felon is on our ballot," she said.

Sime said language about convictions is in the charter, which is handed out to each candidate. Candidates are required to sign a form stating they understand the qualifications for candidacy.

However, there are no current plans to begin performing background checks on candidates, Sime said. 

Any changes to the municipal code would require a board vote, city attorney Rob Golterman said. Any changes to the document that candidates sign would be advised by the city attorney, Mayor Jeff Schlink said.

Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel said he didn't believe Schelinski would have filed if the language in the code and charter were consistent, calling the filing 'unintentional.'

"I think the city attempted to be helpful, but the individual got caught," he said.