New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
O’Brien out of the running
Former West Haven mayor misses deadline, won’t appear on ballot
WEST HAVEN — Former Democratic Mayor Ed O’Brien’s reelection journey appears to have come to an end after his campaign missed a critical deadline with the Secretary of the State’s office, an official said.
O’Brien previously filed paperwork to run for mayor on a minor party line — the Action & Accountability line — with a slate of registered Democrats and Republicans. However, a spokesman with the Secretary of the State’s office said a Sept. 1 deadline was missed, and the Action & Accountability party will not appear on November’s ballot.
“It was a mistake; we filed it in the wrong spot,” O’Brien said Thursday.
The paperwork was to be submitted with the state. O’Brien said all prior deadlines required submission to the municipal clerk, which is where he said sent the paperwork.
City Clerk Patty Horvath confirmed her office had received “something with a slate written on it, but it was not stamped in.”
Horvath said the instructions are “very clear” that the endorsement filing document must be submitted at the state, and not municipal level.
“Our candidates went out and got petitions, and because of a technicality because you filed a form in the wrong spot it could throw you off the ballot,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said his team is seeking legal advice, because he believes the petitions his team gathered demonstrate an interest in seeing his minor party on the ballot.
“My whole life in politics it’s always been voter intent,” he said.
Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for the Secretary of the State’s office, said missing the Sept. 1 deadline for the statement of endorsement filing was a “fatal error.” He said the department has been sued “multiple times” in the past in similar scenarios, but the courts have determined that campaigns cannot miss that deadline.
This compromises ballot access for 14 candidates who intended on running on the Action & Accountability line. O’Brien said that, as the candidate at the top of the ticket, he accepts the blame for the error.
Rick Fontana, an adviser for the O’Brien campaign, said the campaign is looking at its options.
“Obviously there was a timeline or a place of submission that was in question, and obviously the campaign did not follow the guidelines set forth by the state,” Fontana said. “I think Ed is really looking at whether or not it’s something where a legal challenge would be in the works, but we’re just getting the information. We’ll be sitting down and taking a look at it to see what makes the most sense.”
Now, three parties will appear on the ballot for November’s election — the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and the Independent Party — with only Democrats and Republicans running a candidate for mayor. A Sept. 14 primary will determine whether Mayor Nancy Rossi or former O’Brien aide John Lewis will represent the Democratic Party in the race for mayor against Republican Barry Lee Cohen.