Suspect Signatures May Thwart The NICE Party

By Steve Bigham

The candidacies of Barry Piesner for first selectman and his entire slate of NICE Party candidates appears to be in serious question this week. State election officials are investigating irregularities in the petition he submitted to get NICE Party candidates on the local ballot – irregularities that may render the petition and the candidacies invalid.

Mr Piesner said Thursday morning that the matter was being resolved and vowed that he and his NICE Party candidates would be on the November 6 ballot.

State and local election officials, however, were not sharing Mr Piesner’s optimism about securing a place for the NICE Party on Newtown’s ballot.

Town Clerk Cindy Simon this week confirmed that she filed a complaint with the state’s election enforcement office August 16 after she discovered some of the signatures on the petition to be signed in a similar handwriting. A check of the signatures in the town’s registrar’s office confirmed her suspicions.

Mr Piesner and seven other candidates from the newly formed NICE Party needed to obtain 35 signatures for eligibility on the November 6 ballot. And the group appeared headed in that direction after handing in the signatures August 8, just minutes before the deadline.

But things have been unraveling for the NICE Party ever since.

“Two of the names did not appear in the voters list of the same name. That brought it down to 35,” Mrs Simon said. “I was on vacation at the time, but when I came back, I studied the names and felt that some of the signatures were in question.”

The town clerk said there were at least three signatures that were written in the same handwriting as another signature. In all cases, it appeared as if a husband had signed the name of his wife. In collecting signatures, the petition circulator, in this case Mr Piesner, must swear under penalty of law that “each person whose name appears on this page signed the same in person in my presence and that I either know each such signer or such signer satisfactorily identified himself or herself to me.”

Also, Mr Piesner was observed by assistant town clerks standing at the town clerk’s counter while others were circulating the petition. This is a clear violation of Mr Piesner’s sworn statement, Mrs Simon said.

Mrs Simon promptly contacted the Secretary of the State’s office, which sent officials from the state’s election enforcement office to Newtown to investigate. Although the state’s elections enforcement unit reported this week that the case was still under investigation, Mrs Simon said Wednesday that the state was recommending Mr Piesner and the NICE Party candidates withdraw their candidacies.

Mr Piesner this week said he does not intend to withdraw and pledged to resolve the issue.

“We’re contesting it. We’re addressing all these things with the Secretary of the State’s office and trying to get a resolution. The NICE Party is not in jeopardy. The NICE Party is going to be on the ballot in November,” he said, promising a press conference in the coming days.

Town Clerk Cindy Simon said this is the first time she has ever questioned the legality of a local petition drive.

“I firmly feel this is my job. If I choose to ignore it, then I don’t feel I’m doing my job. I feel bad for the candidates, but this is part of my job,” she said.

The NICE Party came on the scene this summer as Mr Piesner, a local activist, announced his candidacy for first selectman. Since then, he has added a handful of names to his ballot. His party includes candidates for the Board of Selectmen, Legislative Council, Board of Education, and Planning & Zoning.