In Harrisburg, it seems, nothing is ever settled.
The financial crisis has gone on, arguably, for a decade. The sale of the incinerator, originally due to be completed in June 2012, still is not done. The auction of Steve Reed’s crazy collection of museum artifacts, started years ago, continues next month. The list goes on.
So, I probably should not have been surprised that, this morning, Dan Miller, the in-again/out-again candidate for mayor, announced that he’s back in again. And, with recent challenges to the candidacies of independents Nevin Mindlin and Nate Curtis, the field for the November general election remains a work in progress.
Personally, I hope that Mindlin is able to remain on the ballot. Harrisburg, I believe, would benefit from a strong two-person race between him and Democrat Eric Papenfuse. I respect both men and believe each has the city’s best interests at heart. And either one would represent a significant improvement from the current administration.
Now, the speculation turns to who was behind the candidate challenges.
It’s been widely assumed that Curtis’ candidacy would be challenged on the basis of his residential status. However, the challenge to Mindlin on a seeming technicality came as a surprise.
To some, the obvious challengers include Papenfuse himself and Alex Hartzler, the chairman of the political action committee that supported Papenfuse over Miller in the primary (Hartzler also is publisher of TheBurg). Both deny a role.
“From what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem that the challenge is well-founded,” said Hartzler. “The bias by the court in these cases is to allow participation. My anticipation is that Nevin will remain in this race.”
Court of Common Pleas Judge Bernard Coates Jr. will hold hearings on the petition challenges Monday morning. If Coates rules in Mindlin’s favor, it’s entirely possible that Miller will decide to back out again. Stayed tuned.
Some background: from big cities to small cities to tiny towns, challenges to candidates’ petitions happen all the time. Sometimes, these challenges originate from an opposing candidate and his team; sometimes from the media; sometimes from a local political watchdog; sometimes from an ordinary citizen.
Therefore, it is absolutely incumbent that a candidate running for office cross all his “t’s” and dot all his “i’s” when seeking office. This really isn’t hard. Nominating petitions are fairly straightforward. And every candidate should always assume that someone is going to comb through his petition seeking out errors on which to base a challenge. Heck, just this past primary season, two Harrisburg candidates (one for school board and one for city controller) were tossed off the ballot after their petitions were challenged.
So, now, a judge will decide if Mindlin remains a candidate for the Nov. 5 election. If he is disqualified, I urge him to follow the example of school board member Brendan Murray. When Murray’s primary petition was challenged, he admitted that he had made a silly mistake and accepted his fate, despite his passionate commitment to the district and its children.
The last thing Harrisburg needs is more division, more doubt, more delays. The re-entry of Miller — who lost the Democratic primary, teased the media for two months over running as a Republican, dropped out officially on Monday and now evidently is running again — is simply not healthy for this city, which needs stability, not yet more melodrama ginned up by Pennlive and the TV news.
On the other hand, a race between Papenfuse and Mindlin sounds to me like a good way to have a spirited debate for a few months, settle on a course and move forward. Speaking solely as a resident of Harrisburg, I hope the decision goes in Mindlin’s favor.
