Aldermanic candidate David Krupa to stay on ballot after Madigan ally drops challenge

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 19-year-old DePaul University student will stay on the ballot in the race for 13th Ward alderman after a challenge by a top ally of House Speaker Mike Madigan has been dropped.

David Krupa, a freshman making his first foray into politics, is the lone challenger to Ald. Marty Quinn. In an email on Saturday, James P. Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners said a scheduled hearing into the matter was canceled.

"They had spent so much money and resources against me to get all this together in order to challenge me. For them to just drop it like this really shows a place of weakness that they're coming from," said Krupa.

To run for alderman, 473 petition signatures are required. Krupa collected 1,703 signatures, but said before he even turned them in that Quinn supporters turned in affidavits from 2,796 people who said they wanted to revoke their signatures for Krupa.

During an election board hearing last Monday, Krupa and his attorney said only 187 of the people who signed a revocation affidavit actually signed his nominating petitions, meaning 2,600 were fraudulent.

"I think they're intimidated by someone who hasn't backed down to them. Their whole game is do anything possible to make the person intimidated enough to back away either by their support or bully them out," Krupa said Saturday.

He also addressed an old order of protection against him from a previous relationship. Krupa said allegations made in the order were false and filed by the girl's family and the order has been vacated.

Krupa believes the order resurfacing was an attempt to mislead voters away from his campaign efforts.

Quinn's campaign did not comment as of Saturday night.