Ruling here. (PDF)
The Democrats challenged over 2,284 signatures (enough to disqualify Meehan), claiming that the notary who had certified other challenged pages should have all his/her pages challenged. The judge did not agree.
The political Someone, most likely the Democrat candidate Bryan Lentz, are asking the court to rule that most of the 3,623 signatures gathered on behalf of former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan are invalid. Meehan is the only Republican running.
Meehan, himself, brought the matter to the attention of the Delaware County prosecutor after his campaign staff found four signatures they thought were potentially fraudulent. Here's the tricksy part: the campaign manager for Bryan Lentz said Meehan learned of the problem only because the Lentz campaign had called voters it suspected had not signed the petitions. They did not explain why they suspected fraud. Meehan has asked the prosecutor to verify 20 sheets of signatures from one volunteer. It is about 650 signatures out of 3,627. So far, only four signatures are suspect. Only 1,000 signatures are required to qualify.
Unless Lenz can get a friendly judge in Pennsylvania to throw out all the signatures - something you can't count out in Pennsylvania - it is likely Meehan will be on the ballot.
DIRTY TRICKS
There seems to be no end to the dirty tricks.
[A] Drexel Hill woman who said her signature was forged on a Meehan petition described the experience during a conference call with reporters organized by the Lentz campaign.She said her husband -- Upper Darby Democratic Committeeman Ed Bradley -- notified her last week that her signature appeared on a Meehan nominating petition. Ed is on the Executive Committee and he happened to endorse Lenz in October 2009. (Lenz announced his candidacy in Upper Darby.) Upper Darby has gotten a lot of Federal money since.
"It's appalling to me that somebody, in furtherance of Pat Meehan's cause, took my identity," said Terry Bradley, who recently switched her registration from Republican to Democratic.
And then there's Ed protesting with picket signs at the induction ceremony of Delaware County councilman Mario Civera, (R-Upper Darby) and demanding Civera step down. Ed was also around to quote from when there was a brawl at a polling place in Upper Darby in 2007.
And no one seems to have asked why Ed's wife was a registered Republican for 25 years. Or why she only recently switched parties.
UPPER DARBY AND A.C.O.R.N.
ACORN was advertising for a Southwest PA coordinator who would "work out of the Pennsylvania ACORN office in Philadelphia with daily travel to specific communities in targeted legislative districts, including Norristown, Upper Darby, & Chester City." (via Michelle Malin Dec 2009) The job was advertised on a website devoted exclusively to listing “Green Job” openings in Philadelphia.
October 2008 - One ACORN employee was arrested by Delaware County authorities - Upper Darby is the largest town in Delaware Co.- on felony theft and forgery charges for allegedly submitting dozens of phony voter-registration applications. He pleaded guilty.
UPDATE March 20 - Why is it they're always relatives?
A group of Democrats in Chester, acting on behalf of the Kirkland for State Representative Committee, filed a complaint that another Democrat, Tina Johnson, forged at least half a dozen signatures on her nomination petition.
Chester Democratic Committee Chairwoman Livia Smith said she became concerned with Johnson’s petition, which was filed March 10, when she noticed that her mother’s name appeared on it.Johnson is the first challenger Kirkland has faced from within his party since he was elected in 1992. (The newspaper has some interesting advisers. And an interesting list of newspapers.)
UPDATE March 24 - The Philadelphia Daily News describes Ed Bradley as "one of Lentz's closest political confidants." And reports that Radnor Democratic Party Chairman Bruce Bikin has invited supporters to a Lentz fundraiser. Bikin sent the invitation from the official account he uses as counsel to the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court, an independent agency under the court's jurisdiction.
UPDATE (Apr 1) - Citing a conflict of interest (he donated $1,000) to the Meehan campaign, Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green turned the case over to the state. The state Attorney General, Tom Green, is also a Republican, leading Lenz to question about whether the Attorney General's Office is the appropriate law enforcement agency to continue the probe. He wants a Department of Justice probe - by Democrats.
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