Williamson County candidate changes name to that of her opponent

WILLIAMSON COUNTY - A woman who legally changed her name to that of her election opponent withdrew from the race for Williamson County treasurer on Thursday morning, according to an employee in the Williamson County Clerk's office.

But for a short time, there were two Ashley Gotts running for county treasurer in the Republican primary coming up June 28.

One Ashley Gott is the man who is currently the Williamson County Treasurer, and who is running for reelection. He was first appointed to the seat in 2019, and then ran for the job in 2020 and won. This year he is running for a full four-year term.

The second Ashley Gott is a woman who was named "Erin Perry" until she legally changed her name on Jan. 6. On March 7, a lawyer named David Lawler filed petitions on her behalf at the Williamson County Clerk's office, stating she wanted to run in the GOP primary for county treasurer.

According to Williamson County Clerk Amanda Barnes, the female Ashley Gott came into the office a day later, around lunchtime. She withdrew her first set of petitions and filed a second set, Barnes said.

Neither the female Ashley Gott or Lawler could be reached.

However, if the point of the name change was to cause confusion among voters who wouldn't know which Gott was which on the primary ballot, Illinois law would have provided a way to sort them out.

According to Barnes, a candidate who changes their name within three years prior of running for office would be listed on the ballot by both names, as in "Ashley Gott, formerly known as Erin Perry."

On Thursday morning, Jessica Holmes, an employee in Barnes' office, confirmed that the female Gott had withdrawn her petition.

The current treasurer, the male Ashley Gott, said the whole thing was unfortunate.

"It's an unfortunate and confusing chain of events for the voters of Williamson County," he said. "I can't control what other people do. I can only control myself."

The current treasurer has an opponent for the GOP primary anyway: Herrin native Rob Underwood has also filed to run.

Monday, March 14, is the last day to file petitions. Holmes said the Williamson County Clerk's office will be open until 5 p.m. that day.