Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers tells The Range that he’ll try to knock Republican Shaun McClusky out of the mayor’s race.
Rogers says that party operatives have discovered between 280 and 300 invalid signatures on McClusky’s nominating petitions.
McClusky had to turn in 1,060 valid signatures to make the ballot. He turned in 1,183 yesterday, giving him a margin of just 123 signatures.
McClusky says he’s confident that he’ll survive a legal challenge, which he’s been anticipating.
“The Democratic Party’s chairman is a lawyer and their candidate is a lawyer, so what do you expect?” McClusky says. “We’ll take it to court and let a judge decide and I’ll win.”
McClusky says he’s already talked with attorney John Munger to provide a defense in any lawsuit over his petitions.
If McClusky were to be knocked out of the race, the only Republican remaining will be Ron Asta, who also had a slim margin. Asta turned in 1,205 signatures.
Rogers says that the Democrats have turned their attention to independent candidate Pat Darcy’s petitions.
More on the mayor’s race here.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2011.
“party operatives” Sounds like a soviet era phrase
Why not just exterminate the democratic and republican parties. They have outlived their usefulness.
Jeff Rogers is a cry baby and a snake. He knows his party is on the ropes and that they can’t win in a fair fight, so he resorts to these kinds of tactics. Instead of worrying about the candidates from the other parties, he should focus on the poor state of his own party and the losers that are in it.
No matter who’s elected, They’ll be greedy and corruptible. They won’t care about the people. They will reward their cronies, misappropriate funds, and screw the people. The past will happen again and again. I’m probably the only honest man left in Pima County.
What’s with the name calling, “Dr. Law?” And if the Dems are “on the ropes,” why do they continue to dominate Pima County’s electorate and win most of its races?
Ever been in a fight? Even in a fair one, the stronger fighter usually wins. In Pima County, the Republicans are the weaker party. That’s not meant to be an insult, it’s just the truth. They have fewer registered voters, control fewer jurisdictions, wield less influence and win less frequently. Their numbers and successes have grown over the years, but they’re not about to take over. Especially not if they behave like this.
Republicans tend to be weak in areas not easily mitigated by money, like the ability to attract serious and committed volunteers. That’s the best way to collect signatures, and it’s not really something you can buy.
McClusky’s bluster about his impending legal challenge is ill-advised, and name-dropping John Munger won’t affect the validity of the signatures he turned in to the City Clerk. He’s saying “we’ll take it to court and let a judge decide and I’ll win.”
But he won’t.
If he doesn’t have enough signatures, he’ll be tossed from the ballot. That’s how it works. If the parties in this situation were reversed, the same thing would happen. It’s not because the Dems’ chair and Mayoral candidate are lawyers. It’s because rules are rules. If Republicans are having trouble following them, it’s not the Dems’ fault. Nor is it the system’s fault. Nor is it the lawers’ fault.
Sorry guys, you did this to yourselves.