Local advocacy groups Mt. Airy Democrats and Vote the Ridge say all but one Democratic-endorsed judicial candidate withdrew from their online public forum days before the event. The groups cited a mysterious letter as the cause.
The forum, held on April 4, and 7, was intended to allow local voters a chance to hear from judicial candidates. The groups say it is “especially hard” for voters to keep track of judicial candidates and narrow down who they want to vote for.
According to Maurice Sampson, co-chair of Mt. Airy Democrats, a letter allegedly signed by Bob …
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Local advocacy groups Mt. Airy Democrats and Vote the Ridge say all but one Democratic-endorsed judicial candidate withdrew from their online public forum days before the event. The groups cited a mysterious letter as the cause.
The forum, held on April 4, and 7, was intended to allow local voters a chance to hear from judicial candidates. The groups say it is “especially hard” for voters to keep track of judicial candidates and narrow down who they want to vote for.
According to Maurice Sampson, co-chair of Mt. Airy Democrats, a letter allegedly signed by Bob Brady, chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, began to circulate and an unknown person slipped copies underneath one of their organizer’s doors. Within 48 hours of the two groups’ receipt of the letter, all but one of the candidates who agreed to attend the forum dropped out. Sampson said Brian Kisielewski was the only Democratic-endorsed judge to attend.
The letter, addressed, “Dear Endorsed Candidates,” described the two groups as backing Mike Huff for judge and opposing local Ward leaders and City Councilwoman Cindy Bass. The letter then read, “To avoid any conflicts with these Wards I am asking you to not attend anything with or correspond,” with Mt. Airy Dems or Vote the Ridge.
Brady told the Local, “I never sent a letter. It's not my letter. I never signed anything, and it's a forgery.”
He added, “If someone forged my name, that’s against the law.”
In response, Sampson told the Local, “If the letter is a forgery then Brady should have no problem speaking to the candidates they endorsed to take advantage of every opportunity to speak to voters, including the request of the Mt. Airy Dems and Vote the Ridge.”
Sampson identified the judicial candidates who backed out of the forum as Will Braveman, Amanda Davidson, Irina Ehrlich, Larry Farnese, Kia Ghee, Sarah Jones, Anthony Stefanski, Deborah Watson-Stokes and Leon King.
The Local is waiting for a response from the candidates and will run a longer story in next week's paper.