Issues over petitions are likely to dog Wilson

The Columbiana County elections board votes Wednesday to certify the ballot.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
LISBON -- The problems with Charles A. Wilson Jr.'s nominating petitions for the 6th Congressional District seat will hurt him politically even if he remains on the ballot.
So says Sunil Ahuja, a Youngstown State University associate professor of political science who is co-writing a chapter on the 6th District race in the upcoming book, "The Roads to Congress."
Ahuja serves as co-editor of the books published every two years since 1998 that focus on 10 or so key congressional races.
Ahuja and William Binning, YSU political science chairman, are writing a chapter on the 6th District race for the 2006 edition of the book.
The Ohio 6th is considered one of the most competitive congressional races in the country, according to national political experts.
Wilson, of St. Clairsville, a state senator, is considered the Democratic front-runner and is supported by party officials.
Wilson's petitions had 96 signatures, all from Belmont and Scioto counties. Those counties are split into two congressional districts, and 43 of the 96 signatures on Wilson's petitions came from voters who live in other congressional districts.
Congressional candidates need 50 valid signatures from registered voters in their districts to get on the ballot.
Wilson said Friday he believes he has exactly 50 valid signatures. Wilson said Monday he is "confident" his petitions have enough valid signatures, and he won't comment further until the Columbiana County Board of Elections meets Wednesday to certify the May primary ballot.
Others say Wilson will come up short of the 50 number.
How law changed
When the petition issue was discovered, John Payne, Columbiana County elections board director and a Democrat, advised Wilson's campaign that there was a state law to allow candidates to write a letter withdrawing the original petitions and submit a new set.
Wilson's campaign did that, but that law was changed in 2002 by the state Legislature -- with Wilson voting in favor of it.
The law change forbids candidates to withdraw petitions after filing them and does not permit them to alter, correct or add petitions after they're filed.
If the elections board certifies Wilson's petitions Wednesday, Binning and Ahuja expect Republicans to exploit the controversy.
If Wilson is disqualified, he can run as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary or seek the post in the November general election as an independent candidate.
As a write-in candidate, Wilson would be forced to spend a lot of money to win the primary in the 12-county district that could drain his campaign fund of money he'd need for the general election, Binning said.
"You'd have to mail to every registered Democratic voter in the district about the write-in candidacy," he said.
Running as an independent in the general election would lead to voter confusion, Binning and Ahuja said. There would be a Democratic candidate on the ballot with Democratic leaders urging people to vote for the independent, they said.
Potential protest
If the elections board certifies Wilson's petitions, a protest questioning his eligibility can be filed by Feb. 27.
John Stephen Luchansky of Boardman, a Democratic candidate for the 6th District seat, said filing a protest is an option he's considering.
Luchansky and Bob Carr, the other Democrat in this race, wonder why Wilson struggled with the valid signature requirement.
Even if Wilson has 50 valid signatures, he should be disqualified, Carr said, because he violated election law regarding the withdrawal of petitions.
"There are legitimate candidates who followed the rules," Carr said. "It's a big, stinking mess."
This isn't Wilson's first problem with nominating petitions.
In 1994, he was disqualified as a state House candidate because he didn't fill out declarations of candidacy on three of his four nominating petitions, a state election law requirement.
Wilson took the case to the Ohio Supreme Court and lost because the court ruled that each petition is a separate document. Wilson unsuccessfully argued the four papers were part of a continuing form.
"His campaign has demonstrated a troubling level of incompetence," said Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
skolnick@vindy.com