CLEVELAND -- Colona police were called to Cleveland's caucus Monday night after a dispute over participants' eligibility.

Cleveland Trustee Steve Ballegeer brought people in to the caucus who Mayor Jim White and others said they believed were not eligible to be there.

Mayor White said police were called when Mr. Ballegeer ripped state election papers that Cleveland Trustee Rick Lindell was holding. Mr. Ballegeer, however, said there was a minor struggle when he went to hand the paper to Cleveland Trustee Sherri Krogman and the paper was only slightly ripped at the bottom.

Mr. Ballegeer added that police did not remove anyone from Monday night's gathering.

Mayor White said he canceled the caucus after participants voted 13-7 not to proceed. The mayor said he was unsure if state election laws would allow the caucus to be rescheduled.

Mr. Ballegeer said Cleveland Village Clerk Mike Erickson and Village Treasurer Rick Lindell did not want Ms. Krogman to enter the caucus because she ran as an independent at the last election.

"If you're an independent, you can still go and vote for other people," Mr. Ballegeer said. "They just had it in their head that they wasn't going to let Sherri (Krogman) in tonight."

Caucus results in Wednesday's issue

Complete coverage of Monday night's caucuses in the Quad-Cities area will appear in Wednesday editions of The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus.