Union cries foul on Nader camp.Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard A public employees union Monday accused workers on the Nader-for-president campaign of fraud and forgery forgery, in art forgery, in art, the false claim to authenticity for a work of art. The Nature of Forgery Because the provenance of works of art is seldom clear and because their origin is often judged by means of subtle factors, art in gathering signatures to place the consumer advocate's name on Oregon's ballot. The accusation by the Service Employees International Union, a Democratic Party stalwart Stalwart A description of companies that have large capitalizations and provide investors with slow but steady and dependable growth prospects. Notes: The annual gain that would be viewed as the norm for investing in stalwarts is about 10% to 12%. , drew a sharp response from Nader's chief advocate in Oregon. Greg Kafoury, a Portland lawyer, said the union's complaints were an effort to draw attention away from Democrats' "gangster tactics" to keep Nader off the ballot. The fight over signatures illustrates the intensity of both the push by Nader's hard-core loyalists Loyalists, in the American Revolution, colonials who adhered to the British cause. The patriots referred to them as Tories. Although Loyalists were found in all social classes and occupations, a disproportionately large number were engaged in commerce and the to return their candidate to Oregon's ballot and the deep concern among Democrats that Nader could jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. nominee John Kerry's chances of victory and help President Bush's re-election by drawing votes from left-leaning Oregonians who might otherwise back Kerry. After two nominating conventions in Oregon failed to produce the 1,000 signatures required to place Nader's name on the ballot as an Independent, supporters are trying to collect 15,306 valid signatures on petitions by next Tuesday's deadline. The SEIU's lawyer, Margaret Olney, said a review of 4,000 petition signatures already submitted to Multnomah County is under way by the union. So far, after checking on the accuracy of 269 of those signatures, the union has concluded that 66 percent of them appeared to be forged because they: Were from people who were deceased or not living at the listed addresses. Named people who, when contacted, said they didn't sign the petitions;. Were accompanied on the signature sheets by nonexistent non·ex·is·tence n. 1. The condition of not existing. 2. Something that does not exist. non addresses. Mary Alice Mary Alice Smith (born December 3, 1941 in Indianola, Mississippi, U.S.) is an Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actress. In 1987 she received a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Fences. Dale, SEIU's vice president in Oregon, said the rate of apparently forged signatures suggested that the practice was widespread among Nader petition circulators. "The evidence of systematic fraud is clear and convincing and goes beyond anything we have seen before in Oregon," she said. Dale was accompanied at a Portland news conference by a Gresham man, Robert Anderson There have been many well-known people named Robert Anderson, including:
Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy (born 1976) is an Irish politician and member of the 23rd Seanad Éireann for the Labour Party. He was also a member of the 22ns Seanad. , who lives in both Portland and Eugene, said at the news conference that in late July he witnessed people from the Nader signature drive in a Portland office building where he works, apparently copying information from pages torn from a telephone book directly onto signature petitions. Union spokeswoman Patty Wentz said at least 19 complaints had been filed with the Secretary of State's Elections division, with more likely to be filed this week. A spokeswoman for the division, Anne Martens, said she was not able to confirm the exact number, but said several such complaints had been filed by Monday. The state Elections Division is investigating the complaints in cooperation with lawyers from the Oregon Department of Justice. Because the complaints allege To state, recite, assert, or charge the existence of particular facts in a Pleading or an indictment; to make an allegation. allege v. fraud, which is a felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. , Martens said she was legally barred from discussing more specifics of the investigation. Kafoury, who is backing Nader's candidacy, said that if any signatures were improperly collected, they were within the normal range of invalid signatures that typically show up on petition sheets. He said the union and its law firm were trying to divert the public's attention from Democratic Party-backed efforts to intimidate in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. petition circulators. He cited letters sent last week to circulators, whose identities were listed on previously submitted signature sheets, which say in part, "Based on information that we have received, we are reviewing the petitions that you signed as a circulator" and go on to remind circulators of their obligation to follow the signature-gathering laws - or face a felony conviction, a fine of up to $100,000 or prison for up to five years. "All this stuff about fraud is all misdirection MISDIRECTION, practice. An error made by a judge in charging the jury in a special case. 2. Such misdirection is either in relation to matters of law or matters of fact. 3.-1. to conceal the fact that they've resorted to gangster tactics," said Kafoury, who added that he plans to pursue legal action against the law firm for attempting to intimidate and threaten circulators. Olney said the letter was not meant to intimidate people but to encourage petition circulators to follow the law. "We wanted to make sure the circulators were aware of their obligation," Olney said. "We wanted them to know we were watching, I guess." |
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