Ballot Challenges

From the BCCT.

No challenges against Morrisville candidates?

Challenges filed against candidates ahead of primary
Bucks County Courier Times

On the final day to object to a candidate on the May 19 primary ballot, a number of challenges were filed in Bucks County court Tuesday.

The filings challenged the candidacy of a number of township and school district office seekers in Lower Bucks.

March 10 was the deadline for filing a petition to run in the primary. The last day to withdraw a nominating petition is March 25.

Board of Elections Director Deena Dean said no hearings on the challenges have been scheduled yet.

council rock

Several Republican Party members and Council Rock residents filed two petitions, asking the court to invalidate the petitions of Marion Leszczynski and John Johnson to run as Republicans for seats on the school board in the primary.

Holland resident Francis W. O'Donnell and Northampton residents Peter and Joan Palestina claim that Leszczynski is a registered Democrat, but circulated a petition to run for school board in Region 4 and executed an Affidavit of Circulator alleging that he's a member of the Republican Party.

For the same reason, Republicans and Northampton residents John and Karen Jim and Bernadette Heenan filed an objection to Johnson's bid to run against incumbent Heenan in Region 3.

Leszczynski responded that he cross-filed, was unaware of the petition and will be consulting an attorney.

"Typical Republican games that they play," he said.

Johnson replied that he needs to talk to the Democratic committee people because he thought he legally filed.

Election code states that a candidate must circulate a petition to run under his or her own party, according to attorney Mike Fitzpatrick, who is representing both sets of petitioners.

"The first test for every candidate for school board + is basic compliance with election code," Fitzpatrick said. "Two Democrat candidates for school board in Council Rock circulated and filed nomination petitions to participate in the Republican primary and they attached false affidavits to those petitions. The court will decide the outcome."

The petitioners are asking a judge to order the Board of Elections to remove the names from the Republican ballot.

Bristol Township

In Bristol Township, Don Mobley asked the court to knock John Monahan off the mayoral ballot for allegedly leaving things off his petition. Two residents filed a similar petition to knock Mobley off the ballot for council.

Mobley, a township councilman, said Monahan failed to list his income as a security guard for the Pennsylvania Legislature in his petition for mayor, calling it a "fatal defect."

All candidates must file a statement of financial interest with their petitions.

Mobley's statement of financial interest also came under scrutiny. In a petition to the court, Bristol Township residents James Sykes and Patricia Koszarek accused Mobley of failing to list his address on a statement of financial interest.

Nominating papers must include a list of people who are members of that candidate's party and who support the petition. Sykes and Koszarek said Mobley's nominating papers didn't specifically list the towns where his supporters live.

Sykes and Koszarek said they believe at least one of those signatures was from a Republican. Mobley is a Democrat.

middletown

Incumbent Republican Charles Benhayon filed a challenge to the nominating petition of Republican constable challenger Todd A. O'Brien. In the petition filed through his attorney, Joseph Cullen, Benhayon claims O'Brien did not file his statement of financial interests with the State Ethics Commission by the March 10 deadline. Benhayon has been a constable for 18 years.

Pennsbury

Lower Makefield resident and registered Democrat Samuel Madeira Jr. filed a challenge to the nominating petition of Democrat Cynthia G. Osofsky, who is running for Pennsbury school board in Region 3.

In the petition filed by attorney Michael Fitzpatrick, Madeira claims that Osofsky, a Lower Makefield resident, filed her statement of financial interest with the school district on March 11, one day past the filing deadline. The statement should have been filed on March 10, the last day for filing a petition to appear on the election ballot, said Fitzpatrick.

"Every candidate has to attach this ethics statement, because you are required to disclose all your direct and indirect sources of income when you run for public office. That deadline is not flexible. We're following the law on this," said Fitzpatrick Tuesday.

Falls

Terry Rooney and Shawn Riley filed a challenge to the nominating petition of Republican constable candidate Jeff Mourey. In the petition, Rooney and Riley claim that Mourey did not file his statement of financial interest with the State Ethics Commission by the deadline.

upper makefield

Thomas Nagle and Karen J. McAllister have challenged the nominating petition of Democratic supervisor candidate Stephen Skip Lane. In the petition, Nagle and McAllister claim Lane was not a registered member of the Democratic Party at the time the petition was signed.