Jun 4, 2008 3:59 pm US/Eastern
Ogonowski Falls Short, Fails To Make Ballot
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Jim Ogonowski (File Image)
WBZ
It appears Republican senator hopeful Jim Ogonowski has failed to collect enough signatures to make it on the September primary ballot to challenge Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry for his U.S. Senate seat.
Ogonowski submitted 9,970 signatures to Secretary of State William Galvin's office before the Tuesday 5 p.m. deadline – 30 signatures short of the 10,000 needed to appear on the primary ballot.
Ogonowski spokesperson Alicia Preston said the signatures that would have put the Republican at the 10,000 mark were sent in to Galvin's office, but clerks had erred and had not properly signed the nomination papers. "These papers were corrected by the clerks, but were unable to be returned to the Secretary of State's office by 5 p.m.," she said. "The removal of those certified signatures from our totals thereby dropped us below the threshold needed to qualify for the ballot."
Preston said there have been questionable activities at the town clerk's office regarding Ogonowski, including missing signature sheets, sheets mailed to Ogonowski before being picked up – eliminating the possibility of a review -- and "great disparity between original claims of initial signature counts and actual totals."
The Ogonowski camp decided not to challenge these activities, but said after this alleged clerk error, they will review their options on the matter.
Ogonowski released a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying he is mulling over his options.
"I understand that some people may be asking what my intentions are moving forward. I do not yet have an answer for you, but want to thank everyone who has reached out to me in the past few days. Today, I am spending time with my family and maybe I'll even have the chance to enjoy my farm, despite in the rain. This is something I haven't been able to do in quite some time and I actually appreciate the opportunity to do so. I can't tell you the past 24 hours have been easy for me, but I can tell you whatever I decide, it will be a final decision I am comfortable with. And it will be what is best for my family and of course for the citizens of this great state."
A spokesperson for Galvin said the campaign has few options other than appealing to the courts.
Republican Jeffrey Beatty, a Harwich businessman, submitted enough signatures and will be unopposed in the Republican primary.
Ogonowski, a Dracut hay farmer and retired Air Force officer, narrowly lost a congressional race to Democrat Niki Tsongas last fall.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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