Mayor Nutter's re-election campaign, using three friendly voters, challenged T. Milton Street's eligibility to appear on the May 17 Democratic primary election ballot for mayor. The voters claim Street does not meet the three-year residency requirement to run for mayor and that his nominating petitions are rife with forgeries.
Nutter's campaign spokeswoman, Sheila Simmons, said his campaign worked with the three voters, who used campaign lawyers to file the challenge. She noted that one of the trio was a longtime supporter of the mayor. The voters are Olga McGarity, Tiffanie Standard and Shantel French.
The challenge, filed in City Hall 10 minutes before today's 5 p.m. deadline, said three of Street's petition circulators were not qualified to collect signatures and failed to properly complete the paperwork. It accuses another circulator, Malik Aziz of submitting petitions with forged names and addresses of voters. And it notes that Street was in federal custody during the three years running up to this election.
Street immediately responded by saying that Nutter had made a mistake in showing "he's in a very weak position" with voters in the city. Street plans to represent himself in court and seems to relish the opportunity.'
"What this does is give me a chance to get some more exposure that I wouldn't have the money to buy," Street said. "Help me Nutter. He's the best campaigner I got."