Merrill On the Easton Coalition: 'I Had to Reject Their Petitions'

Update, 6 p.m.: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill released a statement in reaction to Judge Barbara Bellis' decision to reject the Easton Coalition's lawsuit:

“Although it is disappointing for voters in Easton that the Easton Coalition candidates won’t be on the ballot this fall, Judge Bellis made the right decision. It is a good reminder that all of us who serve the public are bound to uphold the law. The Easton Coalition failed to file a legally required document with my office by the September 4th deadline, so by law, I had to reject their petitions.

"My office is given the legal authority to approve general election nominating petitions for those who want to run independently or under a party designation. The law unequivocally states that those candidates who want to petition their way onto the ballot under a party designation must file a separate letter of endorsement from the party.

"This is not a trivial matter, and the law was put in place for a reason. The letter of endorsement is the only legal document we have confirming that the party wants these candidates on the ballot, and these candidates want to represent their chosen party on the ballot. There have actually been recent cases where either the candidate was endorsed by a party without their consent, or local minor parties were unaware candidates were petitioning under the party name.

"This law requiring a separate letter of endorsement was designed to eliminate those scenarios. We don’t rejoice in this legal victory, as it deprives Easton voters a choice on the ballot for these municipal seats. The responsibility for this result, however, rests with the members of the Easton Coalition." 

Original Story:

Judge Barbara Bellis ruled today that four Easton Coalition candidates cannot be on the ballot for this November's municipal election, because they failed to file a signed letter of endorsement with the Secretary of the States's Office by the Sept. 4 deadline.

The Easton Coalition had sued the Secretary of the State's Office and the town of Easton after their petition to get on the ballot was rejected.

"As far as we're concerned, we're happy with the ruling," said Av Harris, director of communications for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. "We're not particularly pleased that these candidates can't be on the ballot. It's unfortunate that they didn't hand in all the paperwork."

Val Buckley was running for first selectman, her husband Derek for town clerk, Randy Shapiro for treasurer and Shaun Malay for the Board of Education.

Derek Buckley, a Republican, is the incumbent town clerk, but did not receive his party's endorsement to seek another term.

A message was left for Val Buckley and this story will be updated as more information is available.