Have your cake and audit too.
OK, in my last post I admitted to having a soft spot in my heart for underdog campaigns -- the ones where candidates run not because they're the party favorite, but just because they believe in something. They aren't always the best candidates and I certainly wouldn't vote for somebody just on that basis. But I can't help but admire them.
So I've got to hand it to Chris Walsh, a Hellam Township resident running for Pennylvania auditor general. He doesn't have the slickest campaign I've ever seen, but it's pretty impressive for sheer DIY chutzpah.
Walsh never ran for office before. He works as an accountant for Foot Locker in Camp Hill. But he always figured the auditor general should be a professional auditor, not one of these guys using the office as a stepping stone to higher office. Since Walsh is a professional auditor himself, this year he figured he'd put his money where his mouth is and run.
Just getting on the ballot was a challenge. For a state row office like that, he needed 1,000 signatures on nominating petitions, including 100 from 5 different counties.
He didn't have the network of vounteers that some of the more established candidates can draw on, but he managed to get the signatures. He told me about hanging out in the cold outside the Lancaster Central Market, hitting up passersby for their signatures.
Much as I admire his dedication, I suspect Walsh has a slim chance of remaining on the ballot, much less winning the April primary and the November general election. Walsh told me that his Republican primary opponent, Chet Beiler of Lancaster County, had called him up and informed Walsh that he intends to challenge his petitions.
I can't blame Beiler. Frankly, I would have been surprised if he didn't try that.
See, the Department of State has really stringent requirements for those petition signatures. If the signer doesn't doesn't live in the district, or writes down an incomplete street address, the signature is invalid. They must sign their names exactly as they're written on their voter registration cards. If the card says "Joseph" and somebody writes "Joe," it doesn't count.
Candidates will sometimes take out an opponent before the race by sifting through the petitions, and finding enough invalid ones to take him or her below the required limit.
If you do that to an opponent, it carries a certain risk for you as well. The disqualified candidate will likely call you a coward who's seeking to limit the voting public's choices.
Personally, I see it as the political equivalent of a baseball pitcher intentionally walking a heavy hitter. Maybe it's not the gutsiest move in the world. Maybe it won't make the highlight reel. But if the rules allow it and you can use it to your strategic advantage, what the heck. You gotta play to win.
To provide a buffer against that, candidates will usually collect far more signatures than the minimum they need. We're talking hundreds. Walsh has a buffer of about 20, so it will be a very close shave.
Even if he does get taken out of the race, he's already demonstrated a considerable degree of dedication and resourcefulness just by being in it. I hope he takes some pride in that.
