On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 12:20 PM, Matthew C. Naugle wrote:

Greetings all

I received your email address from conservative activists who noted you collected signatures for Steve Christopher. That is fantastic... but it appears that Jennifer Brunner's office literally misplaced an entire pile of signatures. not good

I've heard there is an excel file which was sent to Board of Elections showing that Christopher's count of 2000+ signatures is correct.

Here are Brunner's low numbers she reported:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28146016/Steve-Christopher-Sec-of-State-Worklog

So do you have comments about how many signatures you collected and what you think happened that I can publish? Or if not, any off the record comments?

I run RightOhio.com, which is the most widely read conservative blog in Ohio. The media watches my site closely, and reporters seem ready to cause problems for Sec. Brunner on this issue. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Matt

614-525-1541

Mr. Naugle,

Here is the text, with slight amendment for clarity, of comments I posted on my Face Book page today:

I see that a narrative has developed: Steve Christopher is crazy. He can't count, and wasted all his time going to the Sec. of State's office to turn in a pile of signatures that he ought to have known was inadequate. Except that I called the S.o.S. office myself to inquire after the location of the signatures I myself gathered (about 90). Montgomery County Board of Elections only received 4 (you read right: FOUR) for validation. A nice young lady named Alison in the Brunner's office claims that the candidate never turned them in.

Fair enough, I said to her. "Suppose in a couple years I want to run for some office, and I have to turn in my nominating petitions in the Secretary of State's office, like Christopher did last month. What process do I have to follow to ensure that I don't end up in the same boat that he's in now, holding a receipt for 2750 submitted signatures, but being subsequently told that I only turned in 788?"

(A Their word against mine. More precisely, their word on Feb 18th versus their word now!)

"What procedure does your office have in place to prevent discrepancies like this?"

The answer I got: "We don't have one."

"In other words, the receipt you give out is worthless. Is that what you're telling me now?"

Silence.

So, in the absence of any verifiable proof that Brunner's office is telling me the truth, I guess I'm free to believe whom I choose. Since I gathered nearly 100 signatures myself, I choose to believe that the Candidate turned them in. Why shouldn't I?

Respectfully submitted,

Phil Herzing