Rep. Chuy García has denied intentionally clearing a path for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, to bypass a primary by signing petitions. A document filed with Illinois elections officials reveals García was the first to sign her nominating petitions, days before he announced his retirement.
García said Tuesday in a note to Democratic colleagues obtained by POLITICO that he “did not circulate petitions for any Congressional campaign except my own.” But that obscures his apparent knowledge of the effort by his top aide, Patty Garcia, to get on the ballot.
A petition signature page submitted by Patty Garcia to the Illinois Board of Elections shows the representative and his closest allies, whom Chuy García has also helped get elected over the years, signed their names. They include Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, Illinois state Sen. Celina Villanueva, state Reps. Aaron Ortiz and Norma Hernandez, and Chicago City Council members Jeylú Gutiérrez and Michael Rodriguez.
The form is dated Nov. 3, two days before the filing deadline and three days before Chuy García formally announced his retirement. Patty Garcia ultimately filed nearly 3,000 signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary ballot. The two are not related.
Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli, a spokesperson for Chuy García, said signing a petition is not the same as circulating them.