Complaints force 5 candidates to drop out

Five candidates withdrew from their races soon after their nominating signatures were challenged.

Anna Maria Brennan, a candidate for the District 11 Senate seat, attributed the lack of valid signatures in her nominating petition to political inexperience.

“It was close and I tried to do what I could in those short few days but now I know the process,” Brennan told Arizona Capitol Times on June 14, after realizing she was short on signatures. “I’m coming back.”

Brennan said she had not checked every single signature before turning them in. Some dates on the nominating petition, for example, were incomplete.

She also thought she knew exactly the boundaries of the district, but some of her signatures turned out to be from people outside of those boundaries.

Brennan, who was running as a publicly funded candidate, turned in 657 signatures on May 26. She needed 454 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Brad Williams, a Republican from Paradise Valley, challenged nearly 300 of Brennan’s signatures on June 9.

Scott Bergren, a Republican candidate in House District 21, also decided to get out of the race.

Jeff Laux, a Republican from Chandler, filed a complaint on June 9, alleging that 304 of Bergren’s 651 signatures were invalid. Bergren withdrew from the race two days later.

John Williamson, a Democrat seeking a House seat in District 8, also decided to get out of the race.

Craig Zirbel, a voter in District 8, challenged 106 of the 369 signatures that Williamson submitted. Williamson needed 299 to qualify for the ballot.

According to the complaint, nearly half of the signatures in question came from people who were not registered voters. Other petitioners did not reside in the district.

Anthony “Grandpa” Goshorn, a Green candidate for the House in District 17, withdrew his candidacy on June 16.

More than half of the 70 signatures that Goshorn submitted were challenged. He needed 37 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

According to the complaint, many of the signatures in question were invalid because the petitioners were not registered voters in the district or were from other parties.

Finally, gubernatorial candidate Tom Gordon also dropped out of the race after fellow Republican Buz Mills, who is also running for governor, challenged his petition, claiming the former lawmaker submitted dozens of invalid signatures from Coconino and Gila counties.