Judge Rules that Recall Petition Contained Enough Valid Signatures

Updated 6:35 p.m. on Aug. 11:
COURT HOUSE – Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten ruled on Aug. 11 that the recall committee was able to garner enough valid signatures to move forward with the effort to remove Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport.
The judge’s order is that Troiano’s petition contained 729 valid names and Davenport contained 713.
Batten was charged with deciding if the city’s recall election official, City Clerk Christopher Wood, appropriately invalidated the petitions or whether enough signatures have been gathered to proceed with a recall election
The recall committee needs 697 valid names to move forward with a recall election.
Of the 795 names that were signed on Troiano’s petition, Batten rejected 71 names. Of the 788 names that were signed on Davenport’s petition, 80 names were rejected. Batten reinstated five names on both petitions after Dan Gallagher, who represents the recall committee, successfully argued that they should be included.
Updated 4:45p.m. on Aug. 11:
COURT HOUSE – Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten agreed with the withdrawal of 16 signatures off the petitions for the recall of Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport.
The rest that similarly submitted certifications to have their name removed, Batten denied.
Attorneys that represented Troiano, Davenport and the City of Wildwood presented witnesses that testified they signed the petition believing it to be a document to lower taxes or maintain emergency services.
Attorney Robert Sandman, who represents Troiano, told the judge in closing arguments that those people, particularly those living in Sandman Towers, were “lied to and threatened” by Al Brannen and Commissioner Gary DeMarzo.
Batten responded that those residents also testified that they were later approached by a member of the fire department with certifications to have their names removed, prepared by a lawyer, and asked to sign.
“How is that different,” Batten asked.
Batten also apologized to the witnesses that offered testimony throughout the week’s trial for having to appear in court.
Batten told lawyers that represent both sides of the recall effort, that he would have restricted the parameters of the case if he knew then what he knows now. The line of Wildwood residents that were brought in as witnesses, he said he was “uncomfortable” with.
“So many innocent, harmless and decent people were grilled about a now regretful decision that got them tracked down,” Batten said. “I wish every witness could hear me say that I’m sorry.”
Batten then ruled that the application to reject the 59 signatures obtained by Kathleen McCullough on each petition was denied and the names stand.
Prior to closing arguments the judge determined that 795 names were signed on Troiano’s petition and 788 were on Davenports. The recall committee needs 697 valid names to move forward with a recall election. Currently only 16 names on each petition were rejected by the judge.
Updated 2:10 p.m. on Aug. 11:
COURT HOUSE – Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten spent the weekend manually counting the signatures on the petition to recall both Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport.
Batten found that the original total numbers on the petitions were inaccurate. According to the judge’s manual count, something he said he went over four times, Troiano’s petition contained 795 names, not 792, and Davenport ‘s petition contained 788, not 790.
After those findings, council is now offering closing arguments in the case of the recall petition effort .
Updated on Aug. 6:
COURT HOUSE – Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten told the attorneys that represent both side of the recall on Aug. 6 that the number of names rejected from petitions to recall Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport is inaccurate.
The recall committees submitted petitions with 792 signatures for Troiano’s recall and 790 for Davenport’s recall, Batten is charged with determining which of those signatures are valid.
Wood, acting as the recall election official, deemed the petitions invalid, rejecting 198 of the signatures for Troiano’s recall and 190 for Davenport’s recall.
The signatures, 697 of which are needed to trigger the recall election, must be given by properly registered city voters.
Batten said he attempted to tally the number of names using documents presented during the ongoing recall trial and found his figures do not match those submitted by City Clerk Christopher Wood.
Batten said the numbers were inaccurate and inflated “to the prejudice of the recall petition.”
“While so much attention is paid to duplicate signatures in this case, the same attention should be paid to duplicate rejections,” Batten said.
Batten said the issue would have to be resolved, adding the lack of a proper accounting called the whole process into question.
Updated 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 6:
COURT HOUSE – Kathleen McCullough, who was active in the effort to recall Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport was on the witness stand for most of the day testifying about her voting status in the city of Wildwood.
McCullough, who owns a home in Wildwood and Philadelphia, was a member of the recall committee. However she removed herself from the committee in October 2008 and remained among the circulators of the recall petition. Only registered voters were permitted to circulate the petition.
McCullough, whose voting status has been questioned before, is charged with multiple counts of voter fraud.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten is charged which of the 790 signatures collected on the petition to recall Davenport and which of the 792 signatures collected on the petitions to recall Troiano are valid.
The recall committees turned in the petitions in May, and City Clerk Christopher Wood found them to contain an insufficient number of valid signatures.
The signatures, 697 of which are needed to trigger the recall election, must be given by properly registered city voters.
Dan Gallagher, who represents the recall committee, asked McCullough if she gave up her voting rights in Philadelphia.
McCullough testified that she gave up her voting rights in Philadelphia in 2006 and since then has been politically active in Wildwood. For three years, 2006, 2007 and 2008, she said attended the majority of City Commission meetings often speaking at the public session.
“Emotionally, physically, and politically I am in Wildwood. I am allowed to have a second home,” McCullough told the court.
Doug Jones, who became member of the recall committee in September 2008 due to his feelings about the current administration’s “mismanagement of funds and a tax rate that exploded.”
“Politicians who no longer serve the people need to be removed by the people,” he testified and added that he was limited in his involvement in the effort due to his work obligations.
Jones said that he recalled attending approximated two meetings of the recall committee told the court that the rules of the obtaining signatures was explained to the circulators by Al Brannen, who was also involved in the recall committee.
Jones said that those rules were related to his obligations as a circulators, such as to make sure those signing read or understood the front page of the petition, make sure the correct boxes were checked and that full names and addresses were used.
Jones testified that he was told not to get duplicate names and to his knowledge other circulators understood that directive as well.
“It didn’t need much explanation,” Jones said of the directive no to collect duplicate signatures. “Why would the same person need to sign twice.”
Attorneys who represents those who oppose the recall, have argued a number of signatures were duplicated, specifically the signatures on McCullough’s petition.
McCullough is expected to testify for the remainder of the afternoon.
Updated 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 5:
COURT HOUSE – Commissioner Gary DeMarzo took the stand took the stand on Aug. 5 in the Wildwood recall petition trial of two fellow Commissioners.
Both DeMarzo and his wife, according to prior testimony, were actively involved in the effort to recall Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten must decide if the recall committees gathered enough valid signatures to set a date for a recall election.
DeMarzo said he was not a member of the recall committee but he was a circulator of the petition.
“Did you have a stake in the outcome of the recall,” asked attorney Robert Sandman, who represents Troiano.
“I’m a member of the community. We all have a stake,” DeMarzo responded.
He further testified that if the effort was something he believed in, he would put his energy into the effort.
Sandman asked if DeMarzo was in charge of collecting and collating the petition.
DeMarzo testified that he “held onto the petition” during late April. He told the court that he gave the petition to Tony Totah, a member of the recall committee, the day Totah turned the petition to City Clerk Chris Wood.
DeMarzo said that the effort was bigger than him, but Sandman disagreed and argued that DeMarzo was the driving force in the effort to remove his political adversaries from office.
“This gentleman was behind it heart and soul, beginning to end,” Sandman said and added that DeMarzo had a “personal ax to grind.”
DeMarzo that the recall initiative was separate from his personal feelings.
When Sandman asked if Demarzo was involved in garnering signatures from Sandman Towers, DeMarzo responded that it was “Al’s [Al Brannen, a member of the recall committee] job to get signatures.”
Sandman asked DeMarzo if he told residents of Sandman Towers that their building would be demolished or police and fire services would be removed.
“Absolutely not,” DeMarzo responded.
A number of residents from Sandman Towers had previously testified that they had been told that they signed the recall petition mistakenly thinking it was a document to save their building from becoming condominiums and keep police and fire protection.
Many of those residents signed certifications to have their names removed.
“Would you say that those people were lying,” Sandman asked DeMarzo of the previous witness statements.
DeMarzo responded that he would say they were mistaken.
Sandman questioned if DeMarzo collected signatures from people he knew were fully able to understand the petition.
DeMarzo said that he would contact a guardian for that person and ask if it was OK to get a signature from the person under their care and “do the right thing.”
Colin Bell, who represents Bill Davenport, asked DeMarzo if it occurred to him that if the recall petition and subsequent election was successful he would have the opportunity to become mayor.
“The same thing could happen in 2011 if I ran again,” DeMarzo said.
In response the question again, DeMarzo responded that “there is that possibility, yes.”
Earlier in the day attorneys that represent opponents of recall called members of the recall committee to give testimony on their involvement in the effort to oust the two city officials.
Kathleen Mills, a member of committee to recall Troiano and Davenport, that she became active in the group in December 2008.
Mills said that she wasn’t aware of individuals signing twice. Mills also testified that she had never been in Sandman Towers.
Tony Totah, another member of the recall committee and treasurer of the group, was questioned on how much the committee raised or what expenses the committee had.
Totah said that there was a Web site domain that was purchased and ran a couple newspaper ads.
In response to questioning by Bell Totah said that Kathleen McCullough asked to be taken off the recall committee because she felt that her voter registration would be challenged.
Bell asked if Totah created an Excel spreadsheet on the signatories.
Totah said he had but checked that information irregularly. The information contained those who had signed, who had said no and who was interested but wanted to think on the matter longer.
Totah said the group returned to the residents that had signed with McCullough because the committee had learned that her voter registration was being challenged.
“And you could tell that because of the database,” Bell asked.
“Yes,’ responded Totah.
Bell asked if Totah brought both petitions, the one McCullough collected and the second set of collected duplicated signatures, to the clerk.
Totah said he picked up the petitions from DeMarzo, collated them and brought the petitions to the clerk and turned in both McCullough’s signed petition and the second petition with the additional set of signatures.
Totah said he was not aware of any other petitions containing multiple signatures.
Marc Karavan, who represents the city, questioned Totah about who in the recall committee instructed him to take the assignment to garner signatures a second time from McCullough’s list.
Totah said he didn’t remember who gave him that assignment.
Totah said he had a discussion with Al Brannen, another member of the recall committee who previously testified, Kathleen Mills, about getting the signatures a second time from McCullough’s list.
Testimony is expected to continue on Aug. 6.Updated 10:55 a.m. on Aug. 5:
COURT HOUSE – Brandy DeMarzo, wife of Commissioner Gary DeMarzo, testified on the morning of Aug. 5 on her role as a notary for the petitions to recall Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport.
Robert Sandman, who represents Troiano, turned the line of questioning to a pending civil suit between Gary and Brandy DeMarzo and the city of Wildwood filed in October 2005.
Sandman asked if DeMarzo considered her husband still “psychologically disabled” as their attorney was pleading in the pending civil case.
Dan Gallagher, who represents the recall committee, objected to the relevance of questioning.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten, who is charged with determining the validity of the signatures on the petition, said the court would not allow a “fishing expedition” on a pending civil case.
Sandman argued that he was providing a basis that Gary DeMarzo could have conducted himself “in bad faith” when soliciting signatures for a recall petition motivated by his prior history with the city. The attorneys of the opponents of the recall have argued that the circulators of the petition acted “in bad faith” when collecting signatures, alleging promises of lower taxes, threats of lessened fire and police protection and closing of Sandman Towers.
“That’s how someone could go into a senior citizen center and tell them that they were going to tear the place down,” Sandman argued.
Batten determined that the court didn’t have to know more.
Brandy DeMarzo was then excused from the stand. Gary DeMarzo is expected to take the stand later this afternoon.
The remainder of the morning was spent listening to testimony from residents who signed certifications asking that their names be removed from the recall petition.
Updated 3:00 p.m. on Aug. 4:
COURT HOUSE – Al Brannen , a member of the recall committee that endeavors to oust Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport from office testified explained that recall committee meetings mostly consisted of what streets going to canvas for signatures and who was going to work.
Robert Sandman, who represents Troiano, questioned Brannen about whose decision it was to go to Sandman Towers to solicit signatures from residents.
Brannen said he decided to go because the recall committee received about six calls from Sandman Towers from residents who wanted the committee to come to them.
“We decided to go based on those phone calls,” he said.
Brannen said that he and Commissioner Gardy DeMarzo went to Sandman Towers together, although DeMarzo did not always go with him.
Sandman asked that if Brannen told residents that if they didn’t sign petitions they would not receive fire or police protection.
“Absolutely not,” replied Brannen.
Brannen said that he was the lead person. DeMarzo he said came with him as one resident showed them around the building and introduced them to residents.
Sandman asked if DeMarzo, in Brannen’s presence, told residents of Sandman Towers that if they didn’t sign that paper that the city would tear down the building and remove police and fire protection.
“No,” Brannen said.
Brannen said that prior to submitting the petition one lady called and asked to have their name taken off the petition.
Brannen said that he took the woman’s name off the petition, because “her father was ready to disown her if her name remained on the petition. He was afraid of retaliation from the city.”
Marcus Karavan, who represents, the city asked Brannen if he knew about the possibility of duplicate signatures.
“No, not discussion,” responded Brannen.
“Did any individual mention that there were duplicate signatures,” asked Karavan.
“Not to my knowledge,” Brannen said.
Karavan then asked if there was a conversation about the signatures collected by Kathleen McCullough.
“Word on the street was that the administration was going after Kathleen so we thought it best to take her off [the original notice of intent of recall petition],” Brannen said.
Brannen said that McCullough still collected signatures but another circulator went out to collect signatures because there was concern her signatures would not be counted.
“Was there generally an awareness that submitting duplicates,” asked Karavan.
Brannen said that was not aware a decision made to submit the duplicates and he was not the one who collected the petition.
He said he was originally collating some, then Tony Totah took over and then it was given to DeMarzo. Brandy DeMarzo, the Commissioner’s wife, would be the one who notarized the petition.
“Was Mr. DeMarzo the one who ultimately collated the petition,” asked Karavan.
“I don’t know,” responded Brannen.
Tomorrow, Aug. 5, both Gary and Brandy DeMarzo are expected to testify about their role in the recall committee.
McCullough is expected to testify about her voting status in the city of Wildwood. McCullough, who owns a home in Wildwood and Philadelphia, was among the circulators of the recall petition. Only registered voters were permitted to circulate the petition.
McCullough, whose voting status has been questioned before, is charged with multiple counts of voter fraud.
Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten is charged which of the 790 signatures collected on the petition to recall Davenport and which of the 792 signatures collected on the petitions to recall Troiano are valid
The recall committees turned in the petitions in May, and City Clerk Christopher Wood found them to contain an insufficient number of valid signatures.
The signatures, 697 of which are needed to trigger the recall election, must be given by properly registered city voters.Updated 12:05 p.m. on Aug. 4
COURT HOUSE – Five residents of the city of Wildwood testified that they signed the petition to recall Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport, but didn’t realize it was a document to oust the two city officials from office.
Ruth Turco, a resident of Andrews Avenue, said she signed a petition in January 2009 that she was approached by two women and believed they were circulating a document that was “to lower taxes.”
Claire Riess, a resident of Taylor Avenue, testified that when two women came to her home to sign a petition, it was a chaotic moment in her home.
“I thought I was signing something that would help lower taxes and keep rent the same,” she testified. “I just signed because I wanted to get them out of the house.”
Riess said that the women came back at a later date and “told her that the first petition was destroyed” so she signed again.
Dan Gallagher, who represents the recall committee, asked each witness if it was their signature on the petitions.
The witnesses all agreed that they signed, but they were not aware of what they were signing.
“I checked that box and I signed it, but I didn’t read it,” Riess testified.
Judge Raymond Batten, who is overseeing the proceedings, asked Riess if she was troubled after she learned what she signed was a recall petition.
“Did you do anything,” Batten asked.
“I didn’t know I could,” Reiss said.
Reiss was among those five witnesses that later signed certifications asking that their names be removed from the recall petition.
Mary Lorenzi, a resident of Sandman Towers, using magnifying glass identified her signature in court but said when two men approached her about signing the petition she “couldn’t even see that box” in regards to a checked mark that affirmed that signatories had read the first page of the petition.
Lorenzi said she was told by the men that emergency medical services, police and fire services would be unavailable in her building. She believed she was signing her support to keep the services as they were. Lorenzi said she later learned later that the petition was to recall Troiano and Davenport.
Another resident of Sandman Towers said that she “certainly didn’t sign that” when presented with the recall petition.
“Maybe they [petition circulators] gave it to me like this,” she testified as she folded the top page of the recall petition over.
Continue to check back for updates from the court room.
Updated 4:30 p.m on Aug. 3:
COURT HOUSE – Two residents of Sandman Towers claimed, in testimony on Aug. 3, that they signed the petition to recall Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport, believing they were signing a document about police and fire protection in their apartment building.
“They never said it was about a recall. They said that our building would be condemned and that police and fire couldn’t come in there anymore,” testified Rosemarie Vandyke, a 64-year-old resident of Sandman Towers.
Ruth Barut, who has lived in Sandman Towers for six years, said that “Gary DeMarzo and another gentleman” presented her with a petition that she was told was about fire and police protection.
“I didn’t know it was a recall,” Barut said. “They just showed me the paper that needed my signature.”
Both said they later learned what they had signed was a recall petition, and signed a certification asking that their names be removed from the petition.
Dan Gallagher, who represents the recall committee, then called a list of eight people who verified that it was their signatures on both petitions.
“That’s my signature right there,” said Raymond Harris Jr., a Spencer Avenue resident.
When asked if he knew what the documents were that he signed, Harris said that a representative of the recall committee explained that the petition was to recall “the mayor and Billy Davenport.”
James R. Reilly Jr., a resident of Sandman Towers, testified that although he can’t read small print, a woman he knew explained the contents of the petition and read the contents of the document to him.
“I signed both of them,” Reilly said of the petition.
Nilda Langston, a circulator of the petition, was questioned by attorney Colin Bell, who represents Davenport in the matter, if she purposefully collected duplicate signatures.
“You weren’t trying to slip one by the recall official were you?” Bell asked
Langston testified that she began in the recall effort in April 2009, after another Wildwood resident, Kathleen McCullough, had asked for her help in collecting signatures.
Langston said that McCullough was concerned that the signatures she had collected might not be counted due to ongoing issues with the county Board of Elections.
“As far as I knew the signatures would be submitted one,” she said.
Supporters and opponents of the recall effort will continue to argue the validity of signatures in question in front of Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten throughout the week. On Aug. 4, a full day of testimony is planned with some witnesses needed special transportation and others needing to testify via phone.
Updated 1:00 p.m. on Aug 3:
COURT HOUSE – Testimony from the people who signed their names to a petition to remove Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Commissioner Bill Davenport and the Board of Election who reviewed those names began today.
Board of Elections Registrar Joy Erb was the first to testify about the method the board used to compare signatures collected on the recall petition. In addition to the electronic system available only to the city clerk, the board used poll books, address forms and other documents.
Supporters and opponents of the recall effort will continue to argue the validity of signatures in question in front of Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten this afternoon and throughout the week.
Check back for more updates from the court room.