Shenanigans Admitted In Hinsdale D86 Campaign

HINSDALE, IL – A candidate for the Hinsdale High School District 86 board acknowledged Monday that one of her campaign volunteers admitted to trickery involving website domains.

In a Facebook post, Darien's Asma Akhras said she immediately asked the volunteer, Reid McCollum, to step away from her campaign. She said she learned of his activity a couple of days earlier.

Also on Monday, McCollum, who frequently speaks at school board meetings, admitted on Facebook that he created a website domain for one of Akhras' opponents, Andrew Catton.

He said he has since deleted the website, where he said he published a letter that Catton wrote to the school board expressing "disturbing and fearmongering views and racist tropes."

Akhras is seen as liberal, while Catton is considered a conservative.

In his post, McCollum admitted to lying to Akhras at first that he did not create the Catton website. But on Saturday, he said he acknowledged his work.

McCollum said he created several domains for other candidates in December before he had even met members of Akhras' campaign team. He said he had no involvement in creating her actual website.

On Facebook, some noted Akhras' campaign launched its website around the same time as McCollum created the others.

"The fact that I purchased these domains hours apart from when someone purchased her campaign web domain was a coincidence," McCollum wrote, "thought not surprising given that it was the same week as candidate petitions were due and campaigns were getting organized."

McCollum said he published the Catton website anonymously for "obvious reasons," particularly not wanting to be the target of attacks from the "usual suspects."

The tactic of buying web domains with candidates' names, McCollum said, was commonplace in campaigns. He said he was proud to make known Catton's "troubling" views, which he said Catton himself refused to publish on his own website.

"Unsurprisingly, from the moment the website was noticed, a clear effort was made by some to center the mystery of 'who done it' and to characterize it as a vicious attack," McCollum said.

He said his Catton website topped Google searches for weeks.

In her Facebook message, Akhras said she was disappointed to learn that McCollum was responsible for website and domain purchases. Such tactics, she said, were not welcome in her campaign.

"Our voters in D86 are intelligent people, fully capable of learning about each candidate and forming their own opinions through open dialogue and research," Akhras said.

Patch left a message for Catton on Tuesday morning.

The three other candidates are Kay Gallo, Catherine Greenspon and Deborah Willoughby. The five are vying for three seats on the board in the April 4 election.