A resident in Legislative District 9 is trying to get freshman state Rep. Ethan Orr thrown off the ballot.
Local attorney Jeff Rogers filed a lawsuit on behalf of resident Paul Hilts, claiming a review of Orr’s signatures found 288 of his 634 signatures invalid.
If Rogers is correct, Orr, a Republican, would be roughly 15 percent short of the legal minimum to qualify as a candidate on the ballot.
Orr said the lawsuit has no merit and called it a cheap partisan attack meant to distract voters.
“I just want people to have a choice,” Orr said.
The Pima County Democratic Party weighed in on the issue, saying Orr needs to be held accountable for sloppy signatures.
“Ethan Orr has failed at ‘Democracy 101,’ the most basic level of campaigning,” said Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Don Jorgensen. “It’s a shame that someone elected to make laws seems unable to follow the law like everyone else.”
People are also reading…
An analysis by the Democratic Party found that of Orr’s 634 signatures collected by his campaign, 288 are either those of nonregistered voters, voters from other states or voters who live in other districts.
The case goes to court next Wednesday.
If the lawsuit is successful, it would hand almost certain victories to the other two registered candidates — both Democrats — incumbent state Rep. Victoria Steele and political newcomer Randy Friese.
On Tuesday, two other local political campaigns ended after their signatures were challenged.
The sole Republican candidate in the District 3 House race, Patricia Flores, dropped out after her signatures were challenged.
With Flores out of the race, incumbent state Reps. Sally Ann Gonzales and Macario Saldate face no serious challenges in November and are likely to be re-elected, absent a serious write-in challenger.
Republican-turned-Libertarian candidate Miguel Olivas announced on Facebook Monday that he will not run for Congress in Arizona’s District 3. (See related story, Page A6.)
Both candidates faulted a lack of signatures that they were relying on for a comfortable margin over the minimum that were promised by a paid signature gatherer named Sandra Fernandez.
Olivas said Fernandez had promised him that she would bring in another 700 signatures in the weeks before the filing deadline but never delivered them.
Fernandez said she talked to both campaigns about gathering signatures, but said she never had a formal contract or the proper paperwork to collect signatures with either campaign.
