On Friday, I told you that Bethlehem City Council candidate Adam Waldron's nomination petitions are defective. Though he had twice as many signature than he needed, he failed to attach a circulator's affiidavit to them, in which someone acknowledges under oath that he saw the petition being signed. Apparently, that person is Waldron. Here's his response to the problem:
"I personally circulated and collected nearly 200 signatures, which took me many hours of knocking on doors and talking to Bethlehem residents. I was proud to do this as part of the democratic process. I submitted the petitions notarized and signed as a candidate - as it was explained to me by a Northampton County election office employee. Unfortunately, I did overlook the circulator's affidavit's signature. Since I did collect all the signatures personally, I incorrectly assumed I did not have to sign that area. I submitted the pettions a day early on Monday the 11th, with the idea that any errors could be corrected to the Northampton County Elections Office and no issue was raised.
"At this time, I have not received notice of any challenge. I have been in contact with an attorney who would represent me if a challenge is filled. I hope any of the other candidates and members of the Democratic party recognize that my honest mistake was just a clerical error, and not a purposeful oversight. If a challenge is filled I will represent my case in court with legal aid. I will stand behind my petition and fight for the opportunity to campaign in the upcoming months. It is my view that Bethlehem needs its government and City Council working for them, not against each other. I am confident that on May 21st my name will be on the primary ballot and the voters will have an opportunity to select the candidates they think will work for Bethlehem."
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Monday, March 18, 2013
22 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
Another rule breaker. Can non even follow the simple instructions on an election form and he wants to be in charge of making decisions for a City that is in major financial trouble!!! Sorry sir, you lose. Try again next time.
ReplyDeleteRules are rules. Yer done.
ReplyDeleteIt would a real shame to lose a strong candidate from a mistake like this. "Democracy" should have a chance to flourish and voters should have a choice. I would most defiantly not support any candidate that challenges another candidate over a mistake like this.
ReplyDeleteThe voter registration was checking all petitions for circulators. He took his in a day early, how come the office did not alert him to this defect?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone think this isn't going to come up in the campaign? Regardless if he stays on the ballot or not, he will be tarred and feathered during the debates. would withdraw gracefully and save my reputation for next time.
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Why should an innocent mistake tarnish him? It would make the candidate who brings it up look like a real jerk.
ReplyDelete"The voter registration was checking all petitions for circulators. He took his in a day early, how come the office did not alert him to this defect?'
ReplyDeleteLet's not blame voter registration for what Waldron acknowledges was his own error, albeit an innocent one. Their function is ministerial, not judicial.
It is ultimately the candidates responsibility, but the voter reg. folks should have caught this. They hand out instructions with the petitions that say, in bold, to file early so they can check for errors. When I filed mine they took each one of my petitions, over 15 total, and verified that the circulators were registered and of the right party. I can't believe that they missed this on his? That being said if they are challenged I can't see how he prevails in court. The rules are the rules. Adam is a great guy who I would support but this is an important part of the petition that was missed.
ReplyDeleteThe spirit of these laws is to keep outsiders outside. The law works.
ReplyDeleteI don't subscribe to that theory. That's a convenient explanation for ignoring a law that is designed to prevent election fraud. Remember, this is no minor technical defect. However innocent his mistake, he completely failed to swear out an oath that he or someone personally witnessed those signatures.
ReplyDeleteI feel for the guy. But if this is let go, just think of the issues and mess of how future candidates will try to exploit this. This is a major rule of the petition process! He should have filed the petitions correctly, he didn't. He should be removed from the ballot.
ReplyDeleteI doubt any other candidate is going to risk challenging Adam. It would make them look terrible. So he should be fine.
ReplyDeleteSays a lot about someone's character when they mess up and admit they make a mistake and the next thing they say is they are getting a lawyer. I liked him but he just lost my vote!
ReplyDeleteHe needs to defend a challenge, if one s filed. Generally, people get Lawyers to represent them in court. Nothing wrong with that. The person filing the challenge will be represented.
ReplyDeleteIf a challenge is filled it will go to court automatically. Anyone who is in court case should have legal representation. Then a judge will decide. Checks and balances at work.
ReplyDeleteWaldron would be a fool NOT to seek the advice of an attorney. I would not tag him for doing what prudence dictates.
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ReplyDeleteI can't help wonder what would be said if any of the other candidates made such a fatal mistake. Would we all be so forgiving??
Why didn't the elections office catch such an obvious mistake? Isn't that their job?
ReplyDeleteGreat question --- if a Rethuglican did this, would the People here be so forgiving?
ReplyDeleteWhy do I highly doubt it?
ALLENTOWN DEMOCRAT VOTER
"Why didn't the elections office catch such an obvious mistake? Isn't that their job?"
ReplyDeleteI can show you hundreds of Deeds in the Recorder of deeds of every county that lack an acknowledgement. It happens in every County, and all the time. When things get busy, these things can be missed. The staff in the elections office works very hard, especially to help people who want to get on the ballot. So please do not blame this error on them.
Incidentally, a deed recorded without an acknowledgement is a nullity and needs to be re-recorded.
Bernie, You are right, the people who work in that office should be given an award and combat pay during election season. They truly do a great job. If something was missed, they are not to be blamed. It is the candidates job to ask the question and get the petitions done right. I haven't heard of any other candidates in the entire county who messed this up. Waldron just has to chalk it up to inexperience and move on.
ReplyDelete"Honest Mistake" says it all about this circumstance. I hope we will see Waldron on the ballot this spring...and if that's not possible I hope we'll see him on a future ballot very soon.
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