Assemblymember David Gantt. FILE PHOTO
*This is a corrected version of this blog post.
John Lightfoot and Jose Cruz are back in court this week to continue their fight to stay on the ballot in the race for the 137th State Assembly District.
Lightfoot and Cruz hope to wage a primary battle against Democratic incumbent David Gantt, but a Gantt supporter is challenging the legitimacy of their campaign petitions in State Supreme Court. The Gantt team says some of the signatures on the petitions are fraudulent; defense attorney Van White says the opposition is using strong-arm tactics to bully people into disavowing their signatures.
A hostile initial hearing last week ended in a postponement to give White time to review last-minute paperwork pertaining to the case. The drama continued over the weekend when news broke that attorney Carlos Rodriguez, who represented complainant Ruth Brooks-Ward, had withdrawn from the case. The Gantt team has hired the high-profile firm Nixon Peabody to take Rodriguez’s place.
The case will be back in court at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 15, before Justice John Ark.
– Christine Carrie Fien
