Court gives GOP candidate the boot in race for the 5th
After Republican candidate Paul Addis agreed he didn’t have the needed number of signatures for a viable congressional campaign in the 5th District — a large number of which some contend were forged — the Havertown resident’s name was removed from the ballot by order of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Tuesday.
“As I reviewed the petitions, it became my opinion that there was a massive forgery.” Michael Puppio, the attorney for the three Delaware County registered Republicans – Francis Panico IV, Alycia Jower and Maureen Ganley – who challenged Addis’ petitions, said. “And because of that, we filed a petition to remove him from the ballot. We alleged that there were approximately 715 forgeries on his nominating petition.”
Candidates for Congress must collect 1,000 names on a petition to get on the ballot. These signatures must meet certain standards and are open to contest if they do not. Puppio, who is also the Springfield Republican leader, filed the motion on behalf of the three registered Delaware County Republicans and a “meet and confer” was held at the Delaware County courthouse Sunday between Puppio and Addis’ attorney.
It was at that point that Addis stipulated that a number of his signatures were invalid and the stipulation was made part of the order by Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler.
Addis issued a statement Tuesday regarding the removal of his name from the ballot.
“Due to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to redraw the congressional district lines, I had a compressed time period to gather the required signatures to place my name on the ballot,” it read. “Therefore, I employed a company that came highly recommended and has gathered signatures for other candidates in this election cycle in Pennsylvania. The firm was directly instructed by me to follow all the rules for signature gathering published by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Unfortunately, the firm appears to have been unprofessional, and a number of signatures do not stand up to scrutiny. My lawyer reviewed the signatures with the challenger of my petitions, and we have agreed that there were deficient signatures. Unfortunately, after the deficient signatures were removed from my petitions, I do not have the number of signatures required to remain on the ballot.
“I have spent my career attempting to act in all matters with decency and integrity,” the statement continued. “I chose to run for office because I have a desire to serve, and I believe my experience, temperament, and ability made me a worthy candidate. I am angry over the lack of professionalism exhibited by the signature-gathering firm with which I contracted. I intend to pursue legal action against them.”
The Pennsylvania Senior Deputy General and Radnor resident, Pearl Kim, who would have faced him in the primary offered her perspective. Kim received the endorsement from the Delaware County Republican Party last month.
“I’m happy the integrity of the election process was upheld,” she said. “By all accounts, Paul Addis is a good man and I do not blame him personally for the actions of some of his petition circulators. I hope to meet with Paul in the coming weeks to hear about his personal journey to professional success and his ideas for growing our economy and job creation. But as a former prosecutor, I hope that law enforcement takes a close look at those people who appear to have forged the names of hundreds of local residents.”
Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Andy Reilly said Addis is a good man.
“Pennsylvania law sets certain minimum requirements for congressional candidates to have their name on the primary ballot,” he said. “I met with Paul Addis and came away with the impression that he is an honorable man with a true desire to serve his country. However, as Addis has acknowledged, his campaign simply did not meet the minimum threshold of signatures. I hope that he will lend his business experience and ideas to helping elect Republican candidates on the local level, including Pearl Kim.”
Had the stipulation not been reached, a hearing was scheduled for Friday. That will no longer take place.
“There is no substitute for hard-working volunteers who donate their time and go out and get signatures,” Puppio said. “Individuals who are paid by the signature or by the petition often time have issues with their petitions.”