Hoboken 5th Ward Council candidate Melissa Blanco has been disqualified from the November 3 election after the city clerk’s office deemed that her petitions for nomination did not have enough valid signatures from registered voters in her ward.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Hoboken Deputy Clerk Jerry Lore confirmed with Hudson County View that Blanco had been removed from the ballot, adding that 5th Ward Council candidates needed just 59 valid signatures, or one percent of the registered voters in the ward, to make the ballot.
He also stated that no other candidates have been disqualified or removed from the ballot.
Blanco stated all of her 80 signatures submitted were valid by “New Jersey case law,” later stating “not being on the ballot might not be so bad.”
“The rationale for using eligible voters for petitioning is as simple as the Democratic process. The registered, and not yet registered, eligible voters, have full access to participation of the Democratic process in all stages of elections,” she said over the phone.
“New Jersey supports the use of case law on eligible voters to be distinctly different than registered voters … If my name’s not on the ballot, I don’t mind being a bit of a dark horse. Not being on the ballot might not be so bad.”
She also questioned who developed the petitions for nomination in Hoboken, stating it was different from the one’s produced from the state. The state board of elections could not immediately be reached for comment on the matter.
On Monday, outside city hall shortly after petitions were due, Blanco told Hudson County View she was running to “take a stand for the Constitution, our federal laws and state laws,” stating after the fact that she was suffering from heat exhaustion – which also impaired her ability to gather her petitions.
5th Ward Councilman Peter Cunningham now goes toe-to-toe with former Hoboken Housing Authority Commissioner Eduardo Gonzalez in the race.
Heat exhaustion? You just blew your credibility. You couldn’t have just went with what you said the first time? Now you can’t be taken seriously.
Candidate BLANCO is not off the ballot. Petitions were not rejected but flagged as defective and remedies are available and filed for. It is not the City Clerk but the County clerk that determines final ballot.
We really need to get the City of Hoboken straightened out on state and federal laws. As I said that is why I am running. This is also being addressed through state legislation as Hoboken has jurisdiction over the process but qualified candidates and eligible petitioners are not protected by state law only by case precedent.
Poor Luigi drinking coolaid. The stevens student who found and cared for me collapsed is receiving recognition for her good deed. I guess you also don’t believe that there are good medical reasons the sidewalks are for walking. Another reason the for running the City is flagrantly in violation of health and safety laws.
I imagine John Heinis will moderate your comments after this.
Case in point for needing to bring competency and integrity to the City of Hoboken, the City Clerk made these statements prior to deadlines for challenge and/or remedy. As a matter of fact the deadline was 4PM on a time sensitive election issue and the clerk had left early.
Furthermore the letter of defect , not rejection, issue by Clerk Farina failed to include information as to precisely which petitioners could be remedied and when the applicable deadline was for this. Because of this FAILURE of the City Clerk, County resources have to be expended.
Stay tuned and remember the spelling of BLANCO should we have further breakdowns in what should be a democratic process, petitioners and other voters may need to cast their vote as a write in.
NJSA 19:13-8 Candidate nominated by petition, conditions for acceptance of nomination
Before any petition shall be filed as hereinafter provided, at least one of the voters signing the same, or a candidate who signs or circulates, or both signs and circulates, such a petition, shall make oath before a duly qualified officer that the petition is made in good faith, that the affiant saw all the signatures made thereto and verily believes that the signers are duly qualified voters.
Amended 1973, c.135; 2010, c.68, s.2.
Qualified voter not registered voter.
Qualified means Registered.
Funny that someone who claims to be running on a platform of following all laws is so willing to break ones when she sees fit. Do you have any relatives in Kentucky who issue licenses?
Poor Ed can not follow a train of thought and can only make nonsensical attacks. Try reading title 19 on acceptance of petitions. Eligibile voter is also described and distinguished with rational in a NJ ACLU case and in Tumpson vs Farina. all you have to contribute appears to be name calling and made up stories. Eligible is the language. If you can’t contribute, only have hate and insist on showing your ignorance please refrain from commenting.
At any rate the City has failed in its duties immensely and will likely be heading into another large case for the nearly the same reasons as was settled at the Supreme Court level just hardly a year ago.
Update, additional petitions were submitted and not accepted by clerk. At 3:30 yesterday, it was FINALLY revealed after a week of suppressing that the clerk WOULD accept additional. That gave me only three hours in the AM to get it in. I walked the petitions in and they were promptly rejected by Farina our City clerk.
Lady, in a town full of many political enemies, everyone seemed to get their petitions in just fine. Something tells me you couldn’t do it right at all, were given a chance to fix it and then couldn’t get that right either. Heck you still may even have a chance.
Just admit it. The support isn’t there. Now please launch away with whatever excuses you have.
Great Motivation!
There used to be video with this article. And the video was HILARIOUS