As released by Brenda Alton.
Good Afternoon:
On June 24, 2013, I stood in the historic Capitol Rotunda of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to formally announce my candidacy to seek your nomination as the next Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
As a former Ombudsman, Director for the City of Harrisburg Administration, Management Employee for the PA Turnpike Commission, Community Organizer and Public/Pastoral Servant for well over 22 years, I chose to run for Lt. Governor because I, like you, saw an office well supported by all of our tax dollars; yet woefully under-utilized in areas of communication and potential partnerships that should exist between citizens, local governments and the growing bureaucracy in Harrisburg.
Specifically, as Chair of the Board of Pardons, I saw the absolute need for the office of the Lt. Governor to resolve the inexcusable 5 year back log for Commonwealth citizens who seek pardons declared eligible by established PA rules and regulations. In traveling from county-to-county and being invited to speak in your homes, sanctuaries and college campuses. Greeting you at farm shows and other municipal commemorative events. Knocking on doors in urban, rural and suburban neighborhoods across this great blue and red state, I repeatedly heard stories of everyday people...doctors, lawyers, retired police officers, teachers and social workers whose lives were devastated by an act or indiscretion in their youth; responsible, tax-paying, law abiding citizens being prohibited from certain opportunities and liberties such as hunting or careers as nurses and counselors because the federally enacted 'Patriot Act' changed what use to be termed 'simple misdemeanors ' into federally mandated felonies.
We simply must modernize our pardon system and fulfill the COMMONWEALTH'S part and promise to restore liberties to citizens who are being penalized for no reason other than a horrifically slow process and system that has not changed in the last 3 decades. During these travels, I could not be prouder to say I was privileged to witness and see the true character and picture of the CITIZENS of PENNSYLVANIA. We are not polling numbers, statistics or signatures on a petition page, but mother's and father's, college students, senior citizens, grade school children, community activists, homeless veterans, politicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs, clergy, gay and straight of every race and gender that truly makes the diversity of Pennsylvania our strength despite the gap that exists with a few who 'choose' to believe, speak or write differently.
THE SAME MESSAGE WAS GIVEN TO ME IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS BY EACH AND EVERY INDIVIDUAL
That message?
Please see 'me' as a person, not just a voter...or a faceless constituent on a position paper or polling question.
SEE us as people who want to find consistent work and careers that provide stable foundations for our families and communities devastated by a statewide economy that dropped from 10th to 47th in the first 4 years of the Corbett administration.
An administration, by the way, that seems to care more about selling liquor to the highest PRIVATE BACK DOOR bidder or raffling off our statewide lottery to a company across the sea that has no vested interest in maintaining programs and abatements to the very group who paid their dues to this country and our Commonwealth...Senior Citizens!
This is why OUR CAMPAIGN opted to not only speak about these issues but demonstrate our own 'boot strap initiative' to help put people back to work in our own backyard!
At the beginning of the year, we introduced to key regional stakeholders and elected officials, a multi-million dollar private-public manufacturing and defense opportunity that committed to locating their North East Regional headquarters and warehousing facilities in both Dauphin and York Counties.
This amazing partnership will create 100's of well-paying AND stable union wage earning jobs, stimulate our fledgling local manufacturing base and set another example on how we can better bridge the gap between the varied defense facilities and military installations around many of our and local cities boosting urban AND rural economies.
You see, despite the notion of a few, I entered this race focused and prepared to work, albeit for people and families first, not just a political machine. I did not approach this campaign or the nomination for the office of Lt. Governor as someone who was 'owed' anything but a fair chance...
Not because I’m black, not because I am a woman, not because I am rich or poor or politically connected!
I deserved that chance simply because I am a proud citizen of the United States of America who wants to FULLY participate and do her part in bettering this Commonwealth by ensuring opportunity and equal access to every Pennsylvanians no matter our race, gender, class, legal preference or belief system.
MY PURPOSE AND CONVICTION REMAINS THE SAME!!!
The last 3 days of my campaign were devastating.
My campaign manager and senior advisor worked tirelessly since mid-November organizing volunteers, developing organizational protocols and creating a statewide social media campaign, often sacrificing days of sleep and compensation to get the job done. In the midst of a critical move by our Campaign's Chair and Senior Advisor to run for Congress in both the 4th and 11th District, my campaign manager quickly adjusted and assumed these additional roles and responsibilities that had been instituted and handled by our Senior Advisor, with less than a week to finalize the petition process by the deadline of March 11, 2014. For this I remain grateful.
What was discovered in this last week's transition was troubling and though my campaign manager and our volunteers moved aggressively to adjust, I regret having to say misrepresentations, outside ambitions and conflicts of interest effectively compromised the integrity of the campaign and the overall petition process.
Since February 18, 2014 we gathered 6,239 signatures. Upon internal review on March 8, 2014, my campaign manager reported to me directly, we had well over 5,500 signatures that would survive a petition challenge. Of the eight counties that were internally selected to meet ballot placement requirements identified in early February here is a list of a few of the issues we faced in the remaining 72 hours before the petition deadline of March 11, 2014:
#1 382 petitions in a neighboring county were picked-up by an unknown individual who knew confidential information of their whereabouts, to never be seen again.
#2 In the surrounding counties outside of Philadelphia, 3 of our 5 core counties required for placement on the ballot, despite consistent reports of signatures goals being met by our S.E. Regional field consultants and Senior Advisor, petitions were not circulated and/or collected and thrown away the last 72 hours before the petition drive deadline.
That was just the beginning.
We adjusted and our amazing volunteers and supporters spent the last week collecting the additional signatures needed to place me on the ballot as the nominee for Lt. Governor. My campaign manager spent the last 48 hours of our petition drive reviewing the format and integrity of these signatures against state voter databases.
I want to be clear, for those who continually allege the campaign lacked organization for the petition drive. The signatures under review were those signatures gathered to replace signatures stolen and destroyed. The veracity of each signature remained my priority and I pushed to make sure that every signature counted.
We reached the state mandated number of signatures. Although, in the end we did not have time to verify that every petition signature required for the five counties had been either recovered or replaced, we did arrive within the allotted time for petition submission, in lieu of the incredible obstacles this campaign faced.
After the last several days of reviewing copies of the final petition pages gathered, these signatures do not meet my standard for submission.
I have made the decision to not formally challenge the rejection of the nearly 6000 petitions gathered for my candidacy in serious consideration of the process, my respect for its integrity and my fellow peers and the Democratic Party.
I remain committed to the bigger picture of electing a Democratic Governor with the best agenda to correct the critical mistakes the current Administration has made with Education Funding, Healthcare, Civil Rights and its overall violation of trust and accountability to the everyday citizens in exchange for an open door policy for Corbett’s largest donors and corporate supporters.
This final decision has nothing to do with the merits of the initial issue of our challenge. My staff was not just in the Keystone Building BUT in the petition filing room before any doors were closed and/or announcements made the petition filing process had ended.
According to gathered affidavits, in conjunction with media reports, my campaign manager was physically in the office no later than 4:56 pm and was instructed by an armed capitol police officer to not move, questioned and then escorted out of the office where the officer then shut the main door to the entrance ensuring that I could not attain the notarized petitions prepared for submission.
I remain baffled by the officers’ actions as I was standing in the filing line having completed my own candidates’ nomination form 20 minutes earlier and personally witnessed no other candidate or staff being stopped or questioned.
Even after expressing to both the commissioner and the officer he was my campaign manager and he held my final petitions needed for submission, he was still escorted outside of the office and told to wait? I will address in detail the devastating specifics of that decision and at least 3 critical issues this Sunday at Kingdom Embassy Church during the regularly scheduled morning service; I must speak truth to power, in spite of that catch 22 and ubiquitous label of using the race card.
I simply cannot allow the hard work, integrity and merit of many to be sullied by assumptions not based on the facts but preconceived stereotypes and assumptions that simply just are not true.
MERIT, INTEGRITY and HARD WORK REMAINS THIS CAMPAIGN'S STANDARD.
I thank you for your continued prayers and support. I remain committed to the original purpose and plan in seeking your nomination to be placed on the ballot for Lt. Governor, though the outline of this plan seems to have been revised by a bigger hand than mine.
...PEOPLE BEFORE POLITICS...
MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA!
MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
Sincerely, Dr. Brenda M. Alton