The candidate for state Auditor General whose nominating petitions from Chester County have been called into question for including allegedly forged signatures contends that his campaign had not been involved in any effort to secure false information.
But Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley suggested in a telephone interview Wednesday that the false signatures could have come from outside sources, and not from any person aligned with his campaign. He declined to identify any sources who would have been involved in subterfuge.
“I am not saying anyone else did this,” Pinsley said. “But it could be that.”
Pinsley, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for the statewide post in the April 23 primary, said that he did not know how the apparently false signatures had ended up on his nominating petitions, but indicated that the woman who had circulated the suspect documents had been recruited by one of his campaign staffers.
He also said that he is prepared to meet with investigators from the Chester County District Attorney’s Office to go over what might have occurred to result in the filing of petitions in which the names of at least 16 voters were allegedly fraudulently submitted to the Department of State earlier this month.
“That is exactly right,” he said. “We are looking for swift and decisive action.”
Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, reached outside of his office, issued the following statement:
“My office is aware of the reports of forged signatures on a statewide candidate’s Chester County petitions,” it said. “Pursuant to Pennsylvania election law, candidates are able to contest the validity of another candidate’s petitions in a court of law. During this election cycle, the last day to file objections was Feb. 20. The District Attorney’s Office has nothing to do with this process.
“However, based on the complaints we have received, the Chester County Detectives are conducting a criminal investigation,” he said. “I will not comment further on the pending investigation at this time.”
The allegedly false signatures include four elected officials, including two Coatesville council members, a West Goshen supervisor and Common Pleas Judge Alita Rovito. At least 16 total voters’ signatures have been identified as forgeries by a group of freelance investigators familiar with the nominating petition process, those involved said.
In his telephone comments, Pinsley said he had no clear explanation as to why or how those signatures had appeared on his petitions. He suggested however that they may have been submitted improperly by others outside his campaign.
“It could be a variety of things,” he said.
“The initial report came to our attention through a journalist from Philly,” Pinsley said in an email Wednesday afternoon in reply to questions from the MediaNews Group. “At present, we lack clarity on the circumstances surrounding this incident.
“The swift discovery of the first lone signature raises suspicions of deliberate tampering, so we are investigating this internally (by reviewing circulators) and any external influence. However, I must stress that no concrete evidence supports either conjecture at present,” he said.
Pinsley acknowledged, however, that the person who circulated the petitions on which the apparently forged signatures were presented had indeed been “a volunteer that was found by my campaign manager.” He indicated that he did not personally know the woman who circulated the petitions, who has been identified as a Temple University student.
“It’s unacceptable behavior,” he stated, no matter who was at fault.
“Should we identify the individual behind this unacceptable conduct, I am fully prepared to engage with the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and formally lodge a complaint,” Pinsley said in his email. “The sanctity of democracy cannot be understated, and any attempt to tamper with it must be met with swift and decisive action.
“We owe it to our democratic principles to uphold integrity and ensure the protection of our electoral process,” he said. “ I am sure you know that I have run on how important democracy is and that it is one of the main reasons I got into politics.
In January, the county party endorsed state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in his run for the state office over Pinsley. In Pennsylvania, candidates for office are responsible for filing nominating petitions for both local and state office. The time window to do so is relatively small, so many candidates seek volunteers to help them gain the requisite number of signatures.
For state offices like auditor general, candidates must collect at least 1,000 signatures, with 100 from at least five counties. But the process is exacting, and volunteers must follow state Election Code rules for the signatures.
Beside Rovito, the other elected officials whose signatures appear but who said they did not sign are Coatesville City Councilwoman Khadijah Al Amin and Carmen Green, and West Goshen Supervisor Nate Holman.
“I absolutely did not sign that petition,” said Al Amin Tuesday, noting that her name was not even complete on the document. “There are a lot of errors on those petitions that just raise a lot of questions.”
“That’s not my signature,” said Green. “The way they wrote my name is not right.”
She is a supporter of Malcolm Kenyatta “I signed his petition with my signature,” she said.
“I have never heard of (Pinsley),” said Holman. “The only petition that I signed was for Malcolm Kenyatta.”
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
