Brooklyn, NY – New York’s infamously archaic and exacting petition rules have claimed another victim – this time in the form of would-be public advocate, Councilman Bill de Blasio.
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De Blasio’s campaign attorney Henry Berger confirmed that his client had run afoul of the requirement regarding the “curing” of petition cover sheets, which gives candidates one shot – and one shot only – at fixing initial errors.
One false move – a misplaced numeral or missing period – and you’re dead, which is why campaigns spend so much money on election attorneys.
In this case, the problem was that de Blasio’s cover sheet claimed there were 131 volumes of petitions, when in reality there were 132.
This may seem trivial, but it was sufficient grounds for the rejection of all the Brooklyn Democrat’s 125,000+ signatures.
The fact that he has raised more than $1.3 million and landed endorsements from a slew of unions, the labor-backed Working Families Party, the Rev. Al Sharpton and numerous elected officials all over the city makes no difference in this case.
Now the only way de Blasio can get onto the ballot is via a judge’s ruling.
“This is another one of those arcane technicalities and we hope to get it resolved in court next week,” Berger said.
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