An independent candidate for governor appears set to be removed from the ballot after a challenge to his petition signatures Tuesday morning.
David Douglas Brown, an inventor and public relations consultant, filed for governor with 2,016 petition signatures. That gave the candidate little wiggle room above the 2,000-signature requirement, and by the afternoon, his signature total was whittled down to 1,974 after 42 had been removed. Administrative Law Judge Kathleen Calemmo ruled Brown’s candidacy to be invalid after the petition challenge.
Secretary of State Tahesha Way must formally invalidate Brown’s candidacy.
Brown ran for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012, and finished a distant second behind then-state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, who ultimately lost to Senator Bob Menendez. Brown filed with the slogan “[ __ County] American.”
Signatures can be struck for a variety of reasons, including if the signer is not registered to vote in New Jersey.
Tim Walsh, the vice chair of the Young Republican Federation of New Jersey, challenged Brown’s petitions.
“I was out there every single day in the rain, in all kinds of different weather, getting the signatures, on my feet for three, four, six, eight hours a day, asking the right questions, getting the valid signatures,” Brown said. “So there’s really nothing more I can do.”
This article was updated on Wednesday at noon to reflect the judge’s ruling.