Rock Rapids, Iowa — There’s been another development in the Hilt versus Vander Stoep saga for Lyon County Sheriff. Brian Hilt has now filed a lawsuit.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Brian Hilt won the Republican primary for Lyon County Sheriff in June. But since one person wrote his challenger, Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep’s name on a Libertarian ballot, Vander Stoep became the Libertarian candidate, verified by a 2-to-1 vote last week by an objections panel, made up of two members of the Lyon County Board of Supervisors and the Lyon County Recorder. But now Hilt has filed a lawsuit seeking judicial review to reverse their decision, calling it “arbitrary,” “illogical,” and “based on an erroneous interpretation.”
One of the main objections in the suit is the allegation that the panel proceeded as if they assumed that Vander Stoep needed at least 35 percent of the vote in the current election. However, Hilt says the law states that it needs to be the percentage of a prior election for that office. But it complicates matters because there have never been any Libertarian candidates for Lyon County Sheriff. However, Hilt says the law is clear what needs to be done in such a case.
See below for the text of Hilt’s petition for judicial review:
