Ace Hardware owners want on co-op board

CHICAGO, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Some Ace Hardware store owners are reported running for the company's board to challenge the directors' handpicked candidates, a Chicago publication says.

A group of dealers, known as Concerned Ace Owners, have chosen four candidates for four open spots that will be voted on in June 2008.

The move came after the co-op's push to become a corporation and the resulting $154-million accounting problem discovered during that process in August, Crain's Chicago Business said Thursday.

In a letter to dealers who own about 4,600 Ace Hardware stores nationwide, the group cited a "critical need" to protect its investment through "meaningful dialog" with its directors.