Glendale – On Friday, the petitions of Mayoral Candidate Michelle Robertson were challenged in court and among the facts uncovered was that Robertson hired numerous people to go door-to-door during the Conoravirus pandemic to collect signatures to get her on the ballot, including at least one felon who had plead guilty to the charge of felony burglary.
Additionally, there were numerous pages filled with fraudulent signatures that were simply made up for the Robertson campaign and additional examples of voters who claimed that they never signed the petitions, indicating that the names on the petitions were forged as a way of trying to qualify Robertson for the ballot.
Robertson also submitted petitions filled out by circulators who, in an attempt to disguise their own real identity, gave false information on the circulator portion of the petitions.
It is illegal to have a felon circulate a petition unless that felon has had his rights restored, although the Robertson campaign insisted to the judge that this felon had his rights restored and the signatures should count. Nevertheless, sending a burglar door-to-door during a pandemic shows an incredible lack of judgment regardless of his ultimate legal standing to collect signatures say critics.
Robertson has come under criticism for appearing to put her political career first, and paying people to knock on thousands of doors with pens and clipboards in hand, while city and state leaders were declaring states of emergency and asking people to stay home to keep themselves, their families, and each other safe. However the challenge is ultimately decided by the judge, critics say the Robertson campaign owes the people of Glendale an apology for jeopardizing their health and safety, for submitting fraudulent and forged petition signatures, and for employing signature gatherers who lied about their own identity.