In a recent upset in the race for Philadelphia District Attorney, Candidate, Seth Williams is thrown off of the ballot. Here is his letter to his supporters:
"Friends:
Today, a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge broke new legal ground when he issued two rulings - one removing me from the ballot and a second keeping Mike Turner on it.
Disappointed does not begin to describe my feeling at the moment.
Outrage does.
The judge ruled that in a challenge to my statement of financial interests by Danny McCaffery's campaign that I failed to disclose as "income" reimbursements I received for expenditures I made on behalf of my campaign.
Of course I didn't list them - because they're not income.
Reimbursements are not considered income by the Internal Revenue Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue or the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission. Moreover, the reimbursements were fully disclosed in a separate document I filed with the state - a public documents.
The judge's decision is baffling and will be appealed.
In a second decision, the same judge ruled that Mike Turner could stay on the ballot because the judge allowed signatures that were on petitions notarized by a New Jersey notary and signatures of individuals that were not registered at the address they listed.
That also is not the law. New Jersey notaries can't notarize petitions in Pennsylvania, and you have to list the address where you are registered when you sign a petition.
But I am going to keep fighting - it's too important not to.
Philadelphia's criminal justice system is fundamentally broken, and we need change. We lead the nation in the rate of homicide by handguns. 59 percent of all felonies aren't prosecuted - because the D.A.'s Office isn't ready. Our criminal justice system is a revolving door that allows 60 percent of the crime to be committed by 5 percent of the people. We can't have another District Attorney that turns a blind eye to corruption because fighting it would hurt her politically.
In the coming days, I will be fighting back against these decisions. I hope you will continue to support me.
Sincerely,
Seth"
Today, a Philadelphia Common Pleas judge broke new legal ground when he issued two rulings - one removing me from the ballot and a second keeping Mike Turner on it.
Disappointed does not begin to describe my feeling at the moment.
Outrage does.
The judge ruled that in a challenge to my statement of financial interests by Danny McCaffery's campaign that I failed to disclose as "income" reimbursements I received for expenditures I made on behalf of my campaign.
Of course I didn't list them - because they're not income.
Reimbursements are not considered income by the Internal Revenue Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue or the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission. Moreover, the reimbursements were fully disclosed in a separate document I filed with the state - a public documents.
The judge's decision is baffling and will be appealed.
In a second decision, the same judge ruled that Mike Turner could stay on the ballot because the judge allowed signatures that were on petitions notarized by a New Jersey notary and signatures of individuals that were not registered at the address they listed.
That also is not the law. New Jersey notaries can't notarize petitions in Pennsylvania, and you have to list the address where you are registered when you sign a petition.
But I am going to keep fighting - it's too important not to.
Philadelphia's criminal justice system is fundamentally broken, and we need change. We lead the nation in the rate of homicide by handguns. 59 percent of all felonies aren't prosecuted - because the D.A.'s Office isn't ready. Our criminal justice system is a revolving door that allows 60 percent of the crime to be committed by 5 percent of the people. We can't have another District Attorney that turns a blind eye to corruption because fighting it would hurt her politically.
In the coming days, I will be fighting back against these decisions. I hope you will continue to support me.
Sincerely,
Seth"
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