Jonetta Rose Barras: Ensuring election integrity in the District?
By: Jonetta Rose Barras
Examiner Columnist
September 17, 2009
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics is investigating signatures that appeared nearly two years ago on the D.C. Republican Committee's presidential nominating petitions. It's all very strange to Paul Craney and me. But judge for yourself.
Craney, the committee's executive director, and its chairman, Robert Kabel, had been giving Mayor Adrian Fenty grief about his proposal to raise taxes, following the revelation of a multimillion-dollar revenue shortfall for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. They thought that rather than create additional burdens for residents, the mayor should cut his salary, which is larger than some of the nation's governors.
To press their position, Craney called into a radio show while Fenty was a guest. Of course, the mayor declined to accept the Republican solution. That was July 31.
Three days later, on Aug. 3, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics general counsel, Kenneth J. McGhie, sent letters to several members of the D.C. Republican Party, a copy of which I obtained. Those individuals had signed the "Slate Registration Form" on Dec. 17, 2007, ensuring Republican Party candidates appear on the presidential primary ballot.
McGhie said signatures appeared to have been forged. In his letter, he asked each person to sign an attached sheet to verify the signature on the petition.
Normally such examinations are done before names appear on the ballot. But the elections board waited two years -- after the presidential primary had been held; after ghost votes were reported in the local primary D.C. Council race; after John McCain lost in the General Election; after the presidential inauguration, and after Craney posited that Fenty should reduce his salary -- to start its investigation.
Why?
No member of the DCRC or anyone else alleged fraud, Craney said. "The BOEE is bringing up an investigation without anyone filing a complaint.
"I've never seen this before," Craney continued. "This is outrageous."
Equally amazing is that McGhie threatened legal action against those Republicans who did not respond: "The [board] is prepared to petition the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to enforce its subpoena, and you can be found in contempt of court," he wrote on Aug. 24 to one individual.
McGhie did not return telephone calls to his office.
Rokey Suleman, the elections board's executive director, confirmed there is an "ongoing investigation into some signature irregularities." He declined to provide any further details. He also said there was "absolutely no connection" to criticism by the DCRC, the mayor and the agency's actions.
Still, the timing of the probe remains curious. And, it's an example of no good deed going unpunished: The DCRC was the party that followed existing election laws, securing petitions to ensure their presidential primary candidates appeared on the ballot.
The Democrats lobbied the D.C.Council and got that law changed. Candidates were allowed to buy access to the ballot. Democrats couldn't bother with the minor detail of taking their case to potential voters.
Jonetta Rose Barras, host of WPFW's "D.C. Politics with Jonetta," can be reached at Rosebook1@aol.com.
