Ballot commission dismisses Trane signature challenge

The State Ballot Law Commission dismissed a challenge to the validity of Somerville Alderman Bob Trane's nomination signatures this week in his run for the 34th Middlesex House seat, clearing the way for Trane to appear on the ballot in the Sept. 16 Democratic primary.

Paul Ruseau, a supporter and neighbor of incumbent Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Somerville), filed the challenge. Sciortino, who is openly gay and one of Beacon Hill's most ardent advocates on LGBT issues, has been forced to run a sticker campaign to win re-election after failing to turn in enough certified nomination signatures to qualify for the ballot. MassEquality has declared Sciortino's re-election campaign one of its top priorities during this election cycle.

Brian McNiff, a spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin, said that the commission dismissed the challenge this week but has not yet issued an opinion stating the reason. He said that would likely come down June 20, the deadline for the commission to issue all of its opinions on challenges to a candidate's nomination.

Trane responded to the dismissal by releasing a statement accusing Sciortino of having engineered the signature challenge, which Sciortino has denied (See "Sciortino signature saga continues," June 12). Trane pointed out that Ruseau lives across the street from Sciortino and filed the challenge using Sciortino's attorney, Edward Colbert.

"With all due respect to my opponent, who claimed in three newspapers last week 'not to have been involved in this challenge,' I think many people in this district find his denial insulting," wrote Trane.

Ruseau said he had not yet received official notification that his challenge had been dismissed but had heard about the dismissal anecdotally. He said he plans to volunteer with the Sciortino campaign this fall.

Before the dismissal the State Ballot Law Commission had scheduled a hearing on the challenge for June 19. Ruseau said he planned to argue that several of the addresses on Trane's signature sheets appeared to have been written by the same person. He said he was unsure how much detail about the suspect signatures his attorney included in his written challenge.

"We had specific signatures [we felt were suspect], yes, but I'm not sure if the filing included that," said Ruseau.