COURTESY PHOTO BY ELECTION OFFICE
One of the nomination papers submitted to the Election Office by candidate Eliud Alcala that is the subject of an inquiry.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — First time candidate Eliud Alcala faces a legal challenge in his bid to unseat longtime City Councilor Richard Colucci.
Robert Tucker, who describes himself as a supporter of the Ward 4 councilor, filed the complaint last week. He contends some of the signatures on Alcala’s nomination papers are frauds.
“The handwriting is the same on a number of signatures,” he said. “If you look closely, there are four signatures from one family where the handwriting is exactly the same. In my mind, there’s no question those individuals did not sign them.”
Tucker and Alcala have been ordered by the Election Commission to attend a hearing today at City Hall. The four-member panel, which includes city attorney Michael Barry, will decide whether the signatures are valid. They have up to 14 days to make a decision.
Of the 180 signatures filed by Acala, 61 have been rejected by the city’s Election Office. District council candidates need 100 signatures to be on the ballot. As of Friday, he had 119.
Alcala, 41, said he and his supporters gathered the signatures by going door-to-door.
“The 61 signatures which were not accepted were either not registered voters or did not live in the ward,” he said. “I don’t believe there was fraud. I expect to be on the ballot.”
On Alcala’s nomination papers, the Election Office noted they rejected the signatures because there was no such person at the address listed, they were unable to identify the signature or address because it was illegible, the signer did not live in the ward, or the person signed papers more than once.
While Acala has enough signatures to get on the ballot, the Election Commission has subpoena powers. They can request the original signature cards filed at City Hall when a voter registers to vote and compare them. If there’s any doubt, they could randomly select voters whose name appears on the nomination papers and ask them if they signed it.
Such cases are rare. In 2014, Joseph Curran of Revere, pleaded guilty to charges he filed 16 nomination papers with forged signatures for Sheldon Schwartz of Lexington, who was defeated in a primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.).
Curran, who worked for a Washington consulting firm hired by Schwartz’s campaign to collect signatures, faced a year in jail. But a Suffolk Superior Court judge sentenced him to two years probation on the condition he stay out of political campaigns during that period, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.