Barred from ballot himself, Palmer loses suit to remove remaining candidate
Democrat Mark McCants now has clear shot to win district judge race
Patrick Palmer, whose late arrival in filing his nomination petition cost him a ballot spot, failed Friday to have the other Democrat on an Allentown district magistrate ballot removed as well.
Mark McCants of Allentown remains the lone candidate on the Democratic ballot for magisterial district judge 31-1-09 in Allentown — a new district that includes Wards 6 and 10 and does not have an incumbent.
No Republican petitions were filed in a race where candidates can cross-file, giving McCants a clear path to victory.
Palmer filed a petition challenge last week alleging that 66 of McCants’ 124 signatures were invalid. A total of 100 signatures from Democrats in the district are required.
Whether any of those signatures were invalid ended up being moot.
At a March 17 hearing, Judge Thomas A. Capehart dismissed the lawsuit because Palmer did not provide a copy of the lawsuit to the Lehigh County Board of Election Office, as required by law.
Upon hearing the decision, Palmer told the judge that he went to the election office to inform them of his challenge. He said a clerk told him the office was aware of the challenge.
Capehart said that Section 2937 of the state election code is clear – a copy of the lawsuit must be served to the election office. In this case, handing over a copy would have met the law. The deadline to do so was March 14.
“I’m bound to the law,” Capehart told Palmer.
Palmer could not be reached for comment on the hearing outcome.
Chief Election Clerk Tim Benyo, who was an observer at the hearing, was asked about the filing requirement by Armchair Lehigh Valley.
Benyo said his office is informed of petition challenges by the court but such notice doesn’t satisfy the law.
He said one or two of the petition challengers for the May 16 primary provided his office with official copies of their lawsuits. The rest did not. To his knowledge, he said, the filing requirement was not brought up by any of the candidates whose petitions were being challenged.
Paperwork can trip up candidates, challengers
Palmer’s outcome underscores how not following the fine details can cost candidates and challengers.
To get on a ballot, candidates need valid signatures from registered party members in their political boundary, and the names must be signed not printed. They must have a date.
Petitions, due this year by 4 p.m. on March 7, must include a notarized candidate affidavit filed with the election office. An original copy of a financial statement of interest must be filed with the appropriate governing body (a county or city, for example) and a copy with the election office. A receipt showing the fees paid to run must be included.
Challengers must give a copy of the lawsuit to their election office.
Candidates challenged for these reasons include Northampton County Council President Kerry Myers who was removed from the ballot on March 15 over his signatures.
Challenge decisions pending include Republican William Rowe, who is running for Northampton County Council, over his alleged failure to file a financial statement with the county.
Republican Tina Koren is facing a challenge in her run for Whitehall mayor over her alleged failure to file a financial statement with the Lehigh County Board of Election.
Palmer’s second defeat
The ruling marks the second petition-related defeat for Palmer in the same week.
Palmer’s request for his own name to be on the ballot was denied by Capehart following a March 13 hearing where he said an administrative error led him to miss the filing deadline.
Palmer arrived at the government center at 3:55 p.m. on March 7 and went to the Office of Fiscal Affairs to pay the $50 filing fee.
Palmer, an Allentown School Board member who works for RideShare2vote, testified he was told he couldn't leave without the receipt.
The clerk who handled his payment testified she never said he couldn’t go, but told him if he left and came back for the receipt, the office would be closed.
Capehart’s memorandum, which was issued March 14, said he found the clerk’s testimony to be credible. He said Palmer’s “poor planning” in getting to the government center on time was to blame.
For Armchair Lehigh Valley’s full post on Palmer’s March 13 case, click here.
McCants’ reaction
“I have a smile on my face,” McCants, 65, said after the hearing.
As the only candidate, he said, he doesn’t plan to mount a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination, saying his district is heavily Democratic. “I don’t have to,” he said.
McCants is a graduate of Dieruff High School who played football for Temple University.
The defensive back was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and released. He went on to play three years with the United States Football League.
McCants said he has worked in the restaurant industry and now is in beverage sales.
He said he is running for magistrate because he wants to be a mentor and role model to youth in the 6th and 10th wards.
McCants, who has officiated youth sports, said not all youths who get in trouble need the harshest legal punishment.
“It’s easy to put the hammer on kids,” he said. “There may be a way that with one or two kids that my shared experience may lead them to a different path and to success.”